


What (We) Could Have Been

by thekurtasscarleteyes



Category: Death Note (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Yagami Light Is Not Kira (Death Note), And just like that, Aro and Bi L, Bisexual Yagami Sayu, Did I mention that Kira’s an oc too? Well, Gay Yagami Light, If L gets successors why can’t watari?, L is a clueless jerk, L knows about everything but romance, Light is the definition of gay panic, May add tags?, Multi, Naomi Lives, Raye still dies, Rem and Ryuk are better parents than Soichiro and Sachiko, Ryuk’s a slut for apples, Sayu and Misa actually get good character development instead of just getting pushed to the side, Sayu is a baddie, Soichiro Yagamis A+ Parenting, They are, Update: we have a small game plan. It’s small but it’s there-ish, give him a break, hes old, highkey proud of my design, im literally making this up as I go and have little to no game plan, now we have an oc, this is my first fic, with the additional oc shinigami
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-15 09:49:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 23,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28686639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thekurtasscarleteyes/pseuds/thekurtasscarleteyes
Summary: What if Ryuk dropped the Death Note ten years earlier and seven year old Light Yagami picked it up? It seems someone else has gained a Death Note and seventeen year old Light and fifteen year old Sayu are out to find them. With the help of other people they may just do so. But not without a bit of romance, angst, fluff and crack!////TW//// Trigger Warnings include: Homophobia, Transphobia, Death, Murder, Toxic Parent(s) and Gaslighting. (If there is any other triggers I will add them in the top notes section of each chapter!)Edit lol: I feel like I should say that L/Light is not going to actually happen in this fic... I don’t really know how to say it haha but it’ll just be a fun little thing I included but just so you know: L and Light won’t date or become intimate :) (no smut or anything either... I will add fluf though!)
Relationships: (“/“ is romantic-ish and “&” is platonic), L/Yagami Light, Misora Naomi & Yagami Sayu, Ryuk & Yagami Siblings, Yagami Light & Yagami Sayu, Yagami Sayu/Original Character
Comments: 108
Kudos: 190





	1. Ten Years Makes A Difference

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first time writing a fanfic and posting it! I hope you enjoy‼️

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! This is my first time writing and posting, I hope you enjoy‼️

Seven year old Light was sitting on a bench in the playground of his elementary school reading a book and waiting for his mom and sister to pick him up. 

Light lifted his head up after he heard an odd thud on the grass. It came from behind the shed to his left. He wanted to ignore the strange crash but curiosity got to him and he went to investigate.

He thought it would be something normal, like a squirrel falling from a nearby tree, or a stray soccer ball. But no one was coming to retrieve said soccer ball, so Light went to find out what was behind the shed. 

When he looked behind the shed he found a black, seemingly leather, book. He picked it up and tried to read the white letters on the front, but they were in English. 

He only just started learning English in class a few weeks ago. Even as the top in class he only new a few of the letters on the book: D, E, A and a second E. He would have to look up the other ones when he got home. 

He picked it up and quickly stuffed it in his backpack as he heard his mother call his name.  
_________________________________________

Light and Sayu were hanging out in Lights room, as he had his dictionary out, trying to figure out the strange white letters on the cover of the book. 

He had figured out the the words on the front were ‘Death’ and ‘Note’. It was a strange combination of words. Light was now looking at the inside trying to figure out the ‘instructions’. 

Light thought it was weird that everything was written in English, but it was found in Japan. 

“Hey, Light,” 

Light looked up from his desk and found 5 year old Sayu poking at his shoulder. 

“Hmm? What is it, Sayu?” 

“What’re you doing? You’ve been looking at that book all day. Can I see?” Sayu asked. 

Light knew she wouldn’t be able to understand anything the book said. Wether it be in Japanese or English. But it wouldn’t hurt to let the little girl have a look, so he handed the book over. 

“It’s a book I found at recess. I tried reading what was in it, but it’s all in English. I’m trying to translate it right now.” 

“Oh wow! You’re so cool Light!” The younger sibling exclaimed, looking through the book. 

For a five year old it was quite disappointing. All that was in the book was strange letters that she couldn’t understand. After all of the white print was empty pages. 

“Hey, hey! Light!?” 

“Ah- Whats wrong, Sayu? Don’t be so loud.” The little boy never really liked loud noises, but growing up with a younger sister that can’t be helped. 

“If this is a book, why are there no pictures?” 

The books that Sayu reads in class, and the books Light reads to her at night, always had pictures, so it was concerning to her. 

“Well...” Light started to think: I don’t think it’s an actual book. It’s all in English, plus most of it is blank, so, if it’s a story is probably not finished. Oh well, it’s mine now so, whatever... “Why don’t we make our own pictures?” 

“Okay!” 

Light was in need of a break anyways. 

They ended up drawing an apple tree and black birds in the sky. Light decided that they were crows. 

The notebook was forgotten, being stuffed in Lights drawer, when they heard their mother call to them for dinner.  
_________________________________________

•Five days later•

Sachiko had been gone no less than five minutes before Light saw the large, dark, figure emerge from the wall. 

About five minutes ago, Sachiko said she would be out for a few minutes, to buy some last minute groceries. Light and Sayu were happily situated in the living room watching TV, when the creature appeared out of the wall. 

Light noticed it first. He grabbed Sayu and bolted upstairs to his room, locking the door behind him, and hid under the bed. 

Sayu was crying too loudly to stay hidden for long, while Light was on the verge of tears. 

The next thing the kids saw was a toothy, yellow, grin. 

“Hey,” Said an odd voice

“AHHHH,” 

The children tried moving further back, but couldn’t. 

“Hmm...” the voice said, “So, your name is “Light Yagami”, and yours is “Sayu Yagami”. Which one of you picked up my Death Note?” 

Silence. 

“HEY! I’m talking to you, yaknow?” 

Light finally spoke up.

“You mean the black book I picked up in the playground?” 

“Probably, ya brat.” 

At this point Light was more annoyed than scared. He’d already gotten used to the monsters face. It was rather ugly, in his opinion. 

“Who are you? How do you know our names? How did you get in the house? Even more, how did you get in my room? I did lock the door, didn’t I?” Lights tone indicated that he wanted to learn. It was odd, to the monster, that he wasn’t beyond terrified anymore. 

“My name’s Ryuk. I’m a Shinkgami. I know anyone’s name, if I can see their face, and I just walked through the walls. It’s easy for me to do that.” The Shinigami, Ryuk, stopped for a second then continued: “Its my turn to ask questions, now, where is my notebook?”

Light thought. 

“I’m not telling.” 

“WHAT? WHY?” Ryuk exclaimed, obviously not used to being talked back to. “Did you not hear me when I said I was a Shinigami? Now, I don’t want two brats to have my Death Note. That’s just as boring as being in the Shinigami Relm.” 

“It’s my notebook now. I picked it up. Plus, I don’t see your name written on it, do I?” Lights voice started to waver as he remembered what ‘Shinigami’ meant: ‘Death gods’.

“Why, you little- Uhg. Nevermind, actually, you kids might be interesting.” 

“What do you mean?” Sayu asked. She had finally calmed down after she saw Light talking so casually with the Shinigami. 

“Oh, so the brat talks.” Ryuk said sarcastically. “I’m here cause I’m bored. Where I’m from there’s nothing to do. Absolutely nothing.” 

“So you’re not here to kill us?” Light asked, relieved. 

“What? No. I’m here for something fun to do. I dropped my Death Note cause only people who touch it can see me. I just never expected a kid to pick it up.” 

Light slowly got out from under the bed, with Sayu hesitantly following. 

And just like that, Sachiko came home with the groceries.  
_________________________________________

It had taken about a week for the kids to get used to Ryuk popping up out of nowhere without screaming. After that they had to figure out how to talk to him without freaking other people out. 

As a kid, adults write it off as you talking to yourself or an imaginary friend. But no one has imaginary friends forever. 

Light has it down perfectly. ‘Perfectly’ as in he just ignores Ryuk in public. 

Sayu, on the other hand, loves to talk. Especially with Ryuk. 

The kids had, eventually, showed Ryuk the Death Note. Apparently he really liked the picture. He has a bit of an apple addiction. 

Ryuk helped to translate the Death Note, saying he put it all in English because it was the world’s most popular language. He had no idea where it would fall when he dropped it. 

He helped explain the rules and what it did. Sayu and Light were appalled and hid the book up in the attic where no one would touch it. 

“Yaknow,” Ryuk said, “several Death Notes have made their way into the human world in the past, but you’re the first to have not written any names. It’s been about two weeks and you haven’t done anything.”

“Okay, so, what’s your point?” asked Light.

“Well, from what I know, there’s something about the Death Note itself that makes humans wanna try it out at least once.” Ryuk explained, “It’s just odd you two haven’t.”

“Well, I suppose when you put it like that, it is weird.” Light said.

Ryuk quickly became apart of their daily lives. They got him apples, to feed his addiction, and played video games with him. In return he would help Sayu cheat on tests and he would quiz Light when he was studying.  
_________________________________________

<•Ten Years Later•>

Fifteen year old Sayu was sitting on Lights bed talking with Ryuk and studying, while Light was at his desk doing the same thing. Sayu had just turned the TV on for a break when- 

“The same assailant who attacked six people at a busy shopping district in Shinjuku yesterday, has struck again, taking eight people hostage at this daycare center. His captives include both children and teachers.” 

It was a news caster. 

“The police have now identified the suspect as forty-two year-old Kuro Otoharada, currently unemployed. We expect negotiations to begin immediately.”-

“Wow,” Sayu said. “that’s just awful.” 

“I know right, I don’t get how some people can do things like that.” Light put down his pencil to keep watching. 

-“At the present time, that’s all the police are telling us.” 

Another newscaster came on screen.

“You can’t help but feel concerned for the safety of those hostages.”

The first man at the scene came back again. 

“You’re right.” He paused and continued, “We’ll continue to monitor the situation from here.” 

“Thank you for that report.” The second news castor started, “What do you make of this, Mr. Hashimoto?” 

This time Mr. Hashimoto came on screen. “Well, one can only hope for a quick resolution to this situation.” 

It was silent for a bit. 

“I’m gonna turn this off. I don’t think you should be watching this-“ Light started but was cut off by one of the news casters. 

“Wait, we’re seeing something here! There’s movement at the front entrance.” 

“The hostages are coming out, and they all look to be unharmed! The Special Forces are taking action; they’re moving in! We don’t know if the suspect’s been arrested. Huh? Yes?”

“Wait, what’s-“ This time Sayu was cut off. 

“Ok, we now have confirmation. The suspect has been found dead inside! I repeat: The suspect is now dead!”

“Woah, five hundred yen bets it’s a heart attack. You in?” Sayu said, smirking. 

“You don’t seriously think it’s the Death Note, do you?” Light was honestly hoping it wasn’t. 

“Sure do! You in or not?” 

Light thought, Well, it’s only five hundred. Whatever. 

“Sure, five hundred says it’s anything but a heart attack.” 

“You’re on.” 

There was always playful competition between the two, usually resulting in Sayu loosing money. 

“The Special Forces are denying allegations that’s they shot the suspect.”

The other news castor came on screen. 

“So, it’s quite possible he was feeling cornered and decided to commit suicide?”

Well, according to statements from the hostages the suspect just suddenly collapsed.” 

“A heart attack?” Sayu said, semi-hopefully.

“You might actually be right this time” Light teased.

“Hey, Ryuk?” Sayu was less curious about everything but the Death Note. Especially at times like these. 

“Hmm? What?” Ryuk was busy eating apples.

“What’re the chances of another notebook coming to Earth?” 

“Honestly, I don’t know. I haven’t been back to the Shinigami Relm in, like, ten human years.” He paused to think, “Maybe some Shinigami needed a few years, quick”

“Oh yeah, you’re right. That’s always a possibility.” 

It was quiet except for the news in the TV playing. 

“Lighhhht!” Sachiko called. “It’s already 6:30 you know! Don’t you have cram school tonight?” 

Light sighed, “Yeah, I’ll be ready in just a sec.” he replied.

It was such a chore going to cram school. He already knew everything the teachers were going to ‘teach’ him. He’d rather stay at home, messing around with Sayu and Ryuk, but apparently Lights father wants to keep up a family reputation. 

By ‘family’ he meant his own. Light was less of a son, to him, and more of a stepping stone for his own social standards. 

Sayu gave a knowing and sympathetic look. “Hey, it’ll be alright, just wait till you get to college! No more cram school then, right?” 

“Right.” Light smiled and ruffled her hair. “I’ll see you later, alright?”

“Alrighty!”  
_________________________________________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed!! 
> 
> Please correct me in the comments for any spelling or grammar mistakes!!!
> 
> I would love to hear what you think about the story so please leave comments below‼️
> 
> (I just re read this chapter cause I wrote this at 3am and how tf did you guys let me live when I had so many spelling mistakes 😭)


	2. L

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The introduction of L.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I never expected my first chapter to get more than 10 kudos but here we are at like 27! It’s amazing! I hope you enjoy this chapter ‼️ I wrote it at 2-4 am and I’m just now looking over it while in school... I hope it satisfies.🧍

•At the ICPO• Delegates were going back and fourth.

“There have been fifty-two deaths that we’re aware of, and that’s just in the past week.” Said one.

“Every single one of them involved a heart attack.” Another said.

“They were all criminals who were either being held in prison or who were wanted by police for outstanding crimes. And I think it’s safe to say there are other criminals who’s deaths are unaccounted for.”

“In which case the death toll could be well over 100.” The delegate concluded. 

Silence.

“Uh... morning, Chief.” Matsuda whispered as Soichiro came to sit down. “They started without you.”

“That’s fine,” Soichiro reassured. “I had to take an urgent call from headquarters.”

The people around them started again. 

“At any rate,” One of them said, “these were criminals who were probably facing execution sooner or later. Perhaps we shouldn’t be-“ 

He was cut off by another person’s yelling. 

“Why should it matter if it’s a criminal or someone innocent? The last time I checked, murder was still murder!”

Yet another delegate started up, “It’s still too early to consider these a homicide.”

“Then how did all these people have heart attacks at the exact same time? That’s not coincidence, it’s murder!” A delegate rebutted. 

“You think it’s possible to simultaneously kill all these people at different locations?” The delegate asked. 

“We’re treating this as an elaborate murder plot that’s been carried out by a large organization.” A delegate at the front stated

“If it’s a large organization, I’m sure I’m not alone in suspecting the FBI or CIA.” 

“I dare you to say that again!” A delegate from somewhere is the room exclaimed. 

“Now, now, this is not the time to be joking around!” A rather loud delegate voiced up, “We need to confirm that these are indeed homicides and not just coincidences!”

“How? Autopsy results show that’s in all these cases, the victims died of a sudden heart attack.”

“Investigating a series of heart attacks is pointless. I don’t see what else we can learn.” 

“Absolutely. If these people had been shot or stabbed, at least we’d have something to go on.” 

“If that’s the case,” The awfully loud one said, “it looks as if we’ll have no choice but to bring in L.” 

Silence. Then muttering.

“Uh, Chief. What’s this ‘L’ they’re talking about?” Matsuda asked. 

“Right, I forgot that it’s your first time at the conference. We don’t know L’s real name or whereabouts. In fact, we still don’t know what they look like. However, they’ve managed to solve every case they’ve ever taken on. And they’ve tackled some of the greatest mysteries this world has ever known. They hide in the shadows, but they’re the best of the best. A last resort. Our trump card.” The Chief answered. 

(Matsuda would have been satisfied with an: “Oh, they’re the greatest detective in the world. Moving on.” But you gotta give the consumers some context.)

The delegates started arguing again. It seemed like nothing would get done. 

“But I’ve heard this ‘L’ is extremely arrogant. I understand they’ll only take on cases that they’re interested in.”

“That’s exactly right!” Martin of Petrov agreed, loudly, “Besides, we don’t even know how to contact them!” 

Just then, a strange man, dressed in a long, black, trench coat and a large hat covering his face, walked up onto the stage. 

“L is already on the move.”

Mumbling and whispering started amongst the delegates. 

“Gentlemen, L has already begun their investigation into these incidents.”

“Watari?” A delegate asked in confusion. 

“Huh? Who’s that?” Matsuda asked yet again. 

Soichiro answered simply this time. “That man is the only known person who can contact L. No one knows his identity either.”

“Please be silent.” Watari said, above the murmurs. “L would now like to address the delegates.”

Watari then pulled out a laptop, with a large, black, gothic ‘L’ on the screen, and situated it infront of a microphone. The large L was then projected on the large screen behind him. 

“Greetings to all of you at the ICPO.” L started speaking in a scrambled and modified voice, “I am L.”  
_________________________________________

A few weeks after what the kids call the ‘incident’ also known as the day Kuro Otoharada died, criminals notably started dropping like flies. Now, everything was just Kira, Kira, Kira. But the only ones who knew how it was happening we’re starting at the computer in shock. 

“Okay,” Light agreed. “maybe there is another notebook.” 

“Ya think so?” Sayu mocked. “I think you owe me 500 yen.” 

“Shut up and look. Websites like this are popping up everywhere lately.” Light directed her towards his screen.

A black and white gothic heart with wings showed up on Lights computer screen. It looked like something you would see on an album cover made by an alt punk band. Sayu was into that stuff. 

“The Legend of Kira the Savior. Huh pretty cool.” Ryuk commented. “Is this about the other Death Note user?”

“Yeah. I think they’ve taken the name “Kira” from the English word “killer.” Light added.

“Hmm, Kira... Killer...” Sayu repeated. “I don’t hear it.”

“Yeah, I don’t think it’s a very good name. They could have picked any other name.” 

“You sound pretty disappointed, Light, don’t take things so personally or you might become a suspect.”

“Hey! Are you suspecting me? For your information: I haven’t touched the notebook in at least ten years.” Light stated in his defense. 

“I know, I know, me too.” Sayu sighed, “I’m just thinking here, but, what if we had actually known what the book did and we used it? Do you think we would have turned out like Kira, killing criminals left and right?”

“I don’t know, but I’m glad we didn’t. I think I would go even more crazy than Kira if I ended up like them.”

Just like that, Lights TV suddenly got interrupted. 

“We’d like to apologize for the interruption.” The news reporter said. “As of now we’re bringing you a live worldwide broadcast from Interpol, ICPO.”

“Huh? ICPO? What’s that?” Sayu asked the room. 

“International Criminal Police Organization.” Light answered. “This must be something to do with Kira.”

“We now take you live to the ICPO.” The setting switched to a man with long black hair sitting behind a name plaque with the name ‘Lind. L. Tailor’. 

Tailor started talking. “I head up an International Police Task Force which includes all member nations. I am Lind L. Tailor, otherwise known as ‘L’” 

“What’s up with this guy?” “Who’s L?” Light and Sayu asked at the same time, not knowing the answer to the others question. 

“Why’s this idiot showing his face? If he upsets Kira he’s definitely gonna die. Now everybody in the world knows his name and face.” Light mused. 

Tailor started talking again. “Criminals around the world are being murdered by a serial killer.” 

“Wow. Thanks, Captain Obvious.” Sayu snorted. 

“I consider this crime to be the most atrocious act of human murder in history. I will not rest until the person or persons responsible are brought to justice.”

“Well, I know for a fact you’re not gonna live long enough to see it happen.” Light said, concerned. 

“You’ve got that right.” Sayu agreed. 

“Kira, I will hunt you down. I will find you.” 

Light sighed. “This is almost pathetic from ours and Kira’s point of view.” 

“Kira, I’ve got a pretty good idea what your motivation might be, and I can guess what you hope to achieve. However, what you’re doing right now is evil.”

“We’ll now he has to be trying to piss off Kira.” Sayu said.

“I think that’s true, but I think we’re only seeing what L wants us to see.”

“What do you mean? Tell me what that genius mind came up with.” Sayu teased. 

“If I’m right, you’ll see in a bit.” Light teased back. 

Suddenly, Tailor was groaning, grabbing his chest and straining his head backwards; then he stopped and slumped forwards onto the table. 

Lind L. Tailor had just had a heart attack. 

Both the kids stared at the television, waiting, watching, for what was going to happen next. 

After two men moved Tailors body off screen, a large “L” appeared on the TV, and a scrambled voice started speaking. 

“Ah, I had to test this, just in case, but I- I never thought it would actually happen. Kira... it seems you can kill people without having to be there in person. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t just witnessed it.” 

“W-wow,” Sayu managed to stutter out. “L’s good.” 

“I- I can’t believe this happened exactly as I thought it would...” Light stammered. 

“Listen to me, Kira.” L continued, “If you did, indeed, kill Lind L. Tailor, the man who you just saw die on television, I should tell you that he was an inmate who’s execution was scheduled for today. That was not me.” 

“I knew it.” Said Light. 

“The police arrested him in absolute secrecy, so you wouldn’t have heard about him on TV or through the internet. It appears that not even you have access to information about these types of criminals.”

Ryuk cackled that atrocious laugh of his. “Hyuk hyuk, L really got Kira there.” 

“But I assure you, L is real. I do exist. Now... try to kill me!”

“That crazy bastard.” Light whispered.

“I guess that’s one way to describe L.” Sayu chuckled. 

“What’s wrong? Come on. Kill me!” L yelled through a modified voice. “Come on, Kira. Can’t you do it?”

Ryuk was cackling so loud Light wished he would relinquish ownership so he couldn’t hear him. “Hyuk, hyuk, hyuk.”

“Well Kira, it seems you can’t kill me after all. So, there are some people you can’t kill. You’ve given a useful hint. Let me return the favor. I’ll tell you something that I think you’ll find interesting. Although this was announced as a world wide broadcast, the truth is, we are only broadcasting in the Kanto region of Japan.”

“Wow. I didn’t expect that.” Light admitted. 

“I had planned to broadcast this message around the world until we found you, but it looks like that won’t be necessary. I know where you are.”

“This L guy is pretty good.” Ryuk commented. 

“Yeah, no wonder he’s in charge of all this.” Sayu added. 

“The police treated your first killing as an unrelated incident, but in actuality, the first of your victims was a suspect in Shinjuku. Of all the criminals that recently died of heart attacks, this ones crime was, by far, the least serious. Furthermore, his crime was only ever reported inside of Japan. I used that information to deduce that much.” L explained. 

“Hey...? Isn’t that what we thought too?” Asked Sayu. 

“Yeah, you’re right.” Light confirmed.

“You are in Japan, and your first victim was little more than an experiment, which means you haven’t been killing for long.” 

L stopped, then continued.

“We decided the broadcast in Kanto first because of its large population, and, luckily, we found you. To be completely honest with you, I never expected it to go this well... But it won’t be too long now before I’ll be able to sentence you to death.”

“This is crazy... He really got all that from one victim that everyone else overlooked?” Sayu was talking as she looked down to her brother, blushing. 

“What? Oh... Oh. OH!” 

“Hey! What’s the matter?” Light covered his ears. He still, after ten years, didn’t enjoy loud noises. 

“Lights got a cr-uh-uh-sh!” Sayu sang out and she skipped around the room. 

“I- I do not! I have respect, and admiration. I do not have a crush.” Light practically yelled as his face proceeded to get redder.

“Sureee,” Sayu teased, “whatever helps you sleep at night.” 

“Why I- wait, pay attention.” 

“Naturally, I’m very interested to know how you’re able to commit these murders without being present... but I don’t mind waiting a little longer. You can answer all of my questions when I catch you... Let’s meet again soon, Kira.”

Sayu glanced at Light, as little sisters do. “Wow, ya know, you could make L happy yourself by showing him the notebook.” 

Light glared at her with not-so-pure intent in his eyes. 

Sayu responded to the glare with an apology. “I- I’m just kidding. Just kidding. I know we can’t, or else we might make more Kira’s.”  
_________________________________________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope the beginning at Interpol wasn’t too confusing; there were just too many un-named people there to keep track 😔 
> 
> If I made any spelling or grammatical errors please correct me!! 
> 
> And as always, I love talking with you so tell me what you think!!!


	3. Around The Clock

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kira has access to police information and L starts to suspect a student. Kira’s killing around the clock, a direct threat towards L. 
> 
> Everyone knows that your shadow follows you, but what if you looked back and saw two?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I’m back, again, with another chapter‼️ I hope it’s not too long... I wrote most of it last night and, once again, I’m reviewing and uploading in school... 
> 
> I have a question for you in the end notes that I would appreciate you answering, or at least sharing your opinion on! :)
> 
> We made it to 50+ kudos and I couldn’t be happier! It’s crazy :0 I appreciate you all so much <3

•Task Force headquarters•

Soichiro Yagami was at the Serial Murder Special Investigations Headquarters waiting for updates about the Kira case. “Alright. Let’s start with the tip line reports.”

“Yes, sir.” Mogi responded, “Up to this point, we’ve received 3029 responses about the murders via telephone and e-mail. Most of these have been curious citizens and prank calls, but there are fourteen people who claimed to either know Kira or who have seen them.” 

He paused for a moment, catching his breath, and continued.

“All fourteen accounts were followed up on and carefully documented. However, nobody could provide any information that wasn’t already publicly available.” 

Another pause.

“And lastly, this week there were an additional twenty-one people who called in claiming to be Kira.” Mogi reported. 

“Hmm...” Soichiro cleared his throat.

“We didn’t want to rule anything out. So, we followed standard procedure and created files for all twenty-one of them.” Mogi concluded. 

Soichiro spoke up, “Uh huh. Alright. On to the victim reports.” 

A different detective stood up. “Yes, sir. Upon further investigation, we have confirmed that information of the heart attack victims was in fact publicly available in Japan immediately prior to their deaths. Also,” 

The detective said, glanced at Watari and the computer, 

“concerning L’s request that we investigate the time of death for each victim, we found that all of them occurred between the hours of 4 p.m. and 2 a.m. on weekdays, local time, with sixty-eight percent of them occurring between 8 p.m. and 12 a.m. Weekends and holidays seem to be the exception to this rule as the times of death very much more widely than during the week.” The detective finished.

“That information is extremely relevant for us. It suggests that, given the times of death, our suspect could very well be a student.” Spoke L through the voice modifier. “Based on the fact that Kira is only killing criminals, I think it’s safe to assume that they are driven by a very idealistic notion of justice.” L concluded. “It’s highly possible they may even aspire to be some sort of godlike figure. That information is very interesting. Judging from those times of death, the culprit may be a student.”

Chief Yagami sat up straight in his chair. 

“I have other grounds for this belief. The culprits are probably driven by their own idealistic sense of justice.” L stated through the computer. “They may even be trying to become a god. We may be dealing with someone who has a very childish mentality.”

“I can’t believe that.” One detective muttered. 

“This is just a mere possibility. But please get rid of the idea that the culprit couldn’t be a student.” L said. “Considering various possibilities is the easiest was to arresting Kira.” 

Pause.

“Please continue your investigative report.”

“Yes.” Said the Chief. “Has anyone else noticed anything?”

Matsuda raised his hand nervously. “Yes.” 

“What is it, Matsuda?” Yagami asked. 

“I’m in no way saying this to give credit to Kira’s actions.” Matsuda started. “But for the past few days worldwide and especially in Japan, the number of violent crimes more serious than robbery has dropped drastically.”

People sighed all around the room. It was obvious information that they all knew was right. 

“Well...” The Chief said, crossing his hands, “I suppose that’s to be expected. Anything else?” 

Silence.

The Chief sat up again. “L, that about sums up our investigative report for today.”

“Thank you, everyone.” The computer replied. “I feel as if we’re closing in on the culprit. Please forgive me, but I’d like to make another request. I want the teams investigating the victims, news and internet, to examine closely once more how victims’ identities were made public in Japan. I want to know if pictures of the victims’ faces were shown.” L requested. “I leave it to you.”  
_________________________________________

•The Yagami Household•

“What do you think we can do to stop Kira? We’re the only ones who know about the notebook. Plus, anyone who touches a notebook will have the urge to use it or at least test it out. Unless they’re like us, I guess.” Sayu was ranting. She’d been like this since Lind. L. Tailor. 

Of course, Light wanted to help. He wanted to help the world, but what was concerning him right now was his sister. 

He’d always been a little interested in detective work. His brain found puzzles and quizzes interesting. But it wasn’t something he wanted to pursue. 

Ever sincere was a kid he was interested in writing. Stories, short or long, were amazing. They were something he had full control over. If he didn’t like something he could just change it. The story wasn’t finished until he said so. His own imagination filling up page after page was so satisfying. When he was ten he came up with a story about a boy who was haunted by a gray and blue phantom with red irises and yellow scleras who loved apples. It may or may not have been based of of personal experiences. But Light was stuck fulfilling his fathers dreams.

“You’re right about the book thing, but I dunno what we can do without police information. I know where we can get some, but the means of getting it may or may not be very illegal.” Light stated. 

He knew the entire house was on a family network, so he would have easy access to what was on his dad’s computer. They hadn’t been told yet, but they knew he was working on the Kira case. What else could it be? He hadn’t been home in days. 

“Who cares if it’s illegal!? We’d be catching the worst serial killer in history. I think that atones for borrowing a bit of information from the police.” Sayu whisper-yelled. Light couldn’t help but to agree. She was right. And anyways, who would know that the ever did it? Not the police, that’s for sure.

“So, What’s the game plan?” Sayu asked. “What do ya got?” 

“Well, you know how the house is on a family-“ Light was distracted by the sound of the doorbell ringing. 

“Oh, hey, I think Dad’s home. What great timing.” Sayus voice was dripping in sarcasm. 

Neither she, nor Light, really enjoyed their fathers presence. To them he wasn’t really a dad. He was just that one guy who came over for dinner once every other week and would maybe spent the night. One could say Ryuk, who was sitting on Lights bed playing Mario, was a better father figure. Okay, maybe he was more of a babysitter that was there day in day out, but he was still better than some stranger. 

“Sounds like it.” Light said, unenthusiastically. “Let’s go down. I think dinner’s ready. I can tell you about ‘the plan’ later.”

They walked down the stairs together. Sayu ran into the kitchen to see what her mother was doing, and Light went to go greet Soichiro.

“Hey, glad you could join us for dinner. You hungry Dad?” Light asked.

“Yeah. It’s been a long day.” Soichiro answered. 

The family sat at their dinner table, with Ryuk standing behind Sayu and Light, eating when Soichiro decided to start a conversation. 

“So, Light, tell me. How are your studies going?” 

“Hm? Everything’s okay, I guess.” Light nonchalantly answered, knowing full well what Sayu was gonna say next. 

“Whatever.” Sayu teased. “He’s at the top of his class. My big brother’s a genius!” 

Sayu knew Light hated the phrase ‘big brother’. 

“That’s my son! We’re all so proud of you, Light.” Sachiko said, delighted. 

“Is everything okay, Dad? You look tired.” Light asked, with no real emotion or concern behind it.

“Yeah.” Soichiro said. “I’m not able to say too much about it, but this case I’m working on now is really tough.” 

Bullseye. He’s definitely on the Kira case. The kids thought. 

Back at Lights room he was showing Sayu and Ryuk his screen where he had just hacked into his father’s computer.

“Wow Light. You really weren’t kidding when you said ‘illegal’.” Sayu joked. 

“Yeah, that’s why I was hesitant to do this. We could get into serious trouble if we’re caught. Luckily I can just copy the files we need without a trace. This way, we can keep track of their investigation.” 

“That’s actually... really cool, Light. I’m surprised. Well, not really. You’re one of Japan’s ‘best and brightest’.” Sayu playfully jabbed her elbow into Lights side and he swatted her back. 

“Buzz off. You’ll never forget what the principal said, will you?” An annoyed Light asked. 

“Nope, never!” Sayu answered, popping the ‘e’ in ‘nope’.

“Whatever,” Light jokingly rolled his eyes. “Here we go.” 

Light typed the password in and a whole bunch of files in rows popped up, filling the whole screen. 

“Look, the police are suspecting a student!” Sayu whisper-shouted. Leaning on Lights chair. “D’you think it could be?”

“I mean, it’s actually kind of likely they’re a student. The times match up with school days. And from what I’m suspecting, Kira has a very black and white view of justice. Someone who hasn’t experienced the real world yet. They also probably have some pretty traumatic experiences with criminals. Either that or they’re trying to change the world and become a god of some sort. Maybe even both.” 

“You really think we’re dealing with a god-complex here? I see the whole trauma-y black and white thing you said, but Kira being a god?” Sayu pressed. 

“Well if they didn’t have one before, they definitely do now. You did see the stuff on the internet, didn’t you? They were calling them ‘Kira the Savior’. It’s crazy.” 

“Oh yeah, I forgot about that.” Sayu laughed at her own forgetfulness. “Yaknow, I bet L came up with that student stuff stuff.”

“I was thinking that too. They’re great, right?” Light smiled. 

Sayu made a face of remembrance. 

“I also forgot that you’re a total simp for L.” Sayu smirked. 

“I thought I told you I didn’t have a crush!” 

“And I decided to ignore that because you’re lying.” 

“Hmph.” Light scoffed and crossed his arms in his chair. “I bet 700 yen that if I figure out Ls gender and they’re a girl I’d still just admire them, so it’s not a crush.” 

“That’s an easy 700 yen for me. Plus, if Ls a girl, I still have pleanty of leftover birthday money.” Sayu mocked. 

“I’ll bet another 500 that you’ll fall for L, eventually, cause you’re a bi-disaster. Plus your standards are six feet under. I’ve seen you fall for guys like Hideki Ryuga.” Light rebutted. 

“I think that just says we’re both disappointments.”

“You’ve got that right.” 

Sayu would joke about how Soichiro was a homophobe with two gay kids all the time. He’d always talked about getting grandkids and Light and Sayu would have to stifle back laughter. Light was a gay man and Sayu was bisexual with a preference for anyone but men because her standards were in hell. Light was no better though. So, not only were the both of them very gay, they both hated children with a passion. 

They were living in one of those hilarious comedy stories with seriously depressing undertones.  
_________________________________________

•Two Days Later- At Task Force headquarters•

“What? I- I don’t believe this. Another twenty-three victims yesterday? Are these confirmed?” Soichiro shouted.

“Yes.” The reporting detective confirmed.

“The day before there were another twenty-three victims. Kira’s killing one off, every hour on the hour.” Soichiro shared the information that was discovered yesterday, as well.

“Considering that this new pattern has been going on for two weekdays...” One detective started. 

“It does punch some holes in the theory that our suspect is a student.” Another finished. 

“Maybe not. Anybody can skip two days of school.” 

“You’re missing the point.” L voiced. “It does appear less likely now that Kira is a student, but that’s not the message they’re sending by doing this. Ask yourselves, why every hour? And why are all these victims in prison where they should be discovered immediately? Why not other criminals like before? I believe Kira is telling us that not only can they kill from a distance, but they can also determine the time of death.”

There was muttering and small discussions amongst the detectives in the room. 

‘But something’s not right’. L thought. 

‘As soon as we began to suspect that Kira might be a student, the pacing of the killings changed. As if to contradict that theory. Coincidence? No. Too convenient. This can only mean that Kira has access to police information. It’s obvious now. This is a direct challenge to me. So, Kira has found a way to obtain information from the Task Force headquarters. This is one fact that cannot be ignored. But what do they get out of all this? What are they hoping to achieve in the end?’  
_________________________________________

•Task force headquarters•

“What’s this about!?” Soichiro yelled. 

There were three letters of resignation in front of him, along with the detectives they belonged to. 

“With all due respect, Chief, we’re resigning.” The first detective said. “We demand that you assign us to a different case. Otherwise you can have our badges right here and now.”

“Why? You’re good cops!” Yagami said, as more of a statement than a question. 

“Isn’t it clear? It’s because we value our lives, sir.”

“If what L says is true,” The second detective started. “Kira has some ESP-like power that somehow allows them to kill people indirectly from anywhere.”

“Well, if I were Kira, sir, I’d probably wanna try and get rid of the people who are trying to catch me.” The third one spoke up. 

“Let’s face it, they know they will be sentenced to death if they’re caught.” The second stated.

“We all sat here and watched when L decided to pull that media stunt and challenge Kira to kill them.” The first detective said. “Well, it was all very impressive at the time, but then again, L never had to show their face. Or even reveal their name for that matter. I’m sure you recall L’s last request? They asked that we take a closer look at how these victims’ identities were made public and specifically, to determine whether photos of the victims’ were available to the public prior to their deaths.”

The detective slammed his hands on the table. 

“Well, it turns out they were right! Every single one of those victims’ names and photos were broadcast to the Japanese public, and then they died!” The detective yelled. 

“Unlike someone we know, we’re out there investigating the case wearing police IDs with our names and faces on them! Anybody with a computer can find out who we are! We don’t hide our faces! We’re out in the open!”

“Sir, the truth is, we could be killed by Kira at any time.” The third detective interrupted his co-worker. 

“For these reasons we refuse to continue working this case.”

“Excuse us, Chief.” The detectives said in unison. 

“Hey, stop! All of you,” The Chief yelled, as the three detectives walked out of the room. “hold it right there!”  
_________________________________________

•At Light Yagamis’ Cram School•

As the teacher was, well, teaching, Ryuk walked near the back of the classroom towards the window and stared outside. A shadow in the shape of a person behind a wall and next to a lamppost appeared again for the ‘whateverth’ time, as Sayu would say. In all honesty, Ryuk had no idea how long the figure had showed up in the past week.

The figure first appeared four days ago. Light had, luckily, elected to ignore Ryuk the entire week because he had lost a bet and was petty. 

At first, Ryuk just wrote it off as some weirdo who dressed in all black, but then they kept on showing up through the day. It was creepy even for himself. 

Ryuk would have to tell Light about this shadow on their way home in a darker area.  
_________________________________________

“We brought the FBI to Japan four days ago. They are fully operational. As requested, they’re now gathering intel on the police.” Watari said through the computer. 

“And this is the complete list?” L asked. 

“Yes.” Watari answered. 

There are one-hundred and forty-one people in the police force who have access to classified information regarding the investigation. 

L thought as he was flipping through the files containing the lists of people authorized to have classified information and the people closest to them. 

‘I am sure that somewhere in this list of police officers and the people closest to them, we will find our suspect.’  
_________________________________________

“Light, you got a second?” Ryuk paused for an answer. “Oh right, you’re a sore looser, I forgot!” He cackled, “Hyuk, hyuk!”

He wheezed for a second then continued. 

“Oh well, I’ll talk, you just listen. If you don’t wanna hear me, too bad, cause this is kinda important for the both of us.”

“Just hurry up and spit it out.” Light whispered into his jacket collar. “The suspense you’re making is killing me.” 

“Alright. Let’s just say, you’re being followed by another human. He’s watching you right now.”

Light took a moment to pause and slightly turn his head so he could see behind himself. He saw a man in a black trench coat slowly walk from behind the corner then quickly hide himself from view. 

Light started walking again. His head was buzzing. From either panic or stress, you pick. His anxiety was skyrocketing. Why would someone be stalking him? 

“It’s really starting to get on my nerves.” Ryuk complained. “I realize there’s no way he can see me, but because I’m always following either you or Sayu wherever you go, I feel like I’m constantly being watched.”

‘Wait. Is Sayu being stalked too? By the same person? What’s happening? Why me? Why can’t my life be normal for once?’ Light was, once again, dreading his seven year-old self for picking up that notebook. 

‘Ugh this is a problem.’  
_________________________________________

Light came home and immediately told Sayu what was happening. 

“Who would be following us?” Sayu asked. 

“Detectives?” Light guessed. “I think this means L is suspecting the police. Did you see in the files where it said that Kira probably had police information? It’s pretty justifiable.” 

“Does this mean we’re Kira suspects?” Sayus questions were unanswerable at the moment. “I get that you’d be a suspect. You fit the profile: student, smart, black-and-white sense of justice, need I say more? But why me!?”

“Hey, I grew out of the black-and-white phase when I graduated middle school.” Light defended. “I could never be Kira. That’s just crazy.” 

“Yeah, yeah. I know. You’re too nice.” Sayu paused, then muttered: “At least most of the time.”

Light looked at her, unimpressed. 

“Yeah, I love you too.” He deadpanned. “Assuming that he’s a detective, I think we should just let him follow us. Just don’t talk to Ryuk in public. Okay, Sayu?” 

“No talking? I can do that. Easy as pie.” 

“Ooh pie! Do you think we could buy an apple one later?” 

“Do you have apple pie money? Didn’t think so, cause I sure as hell don’t.” Sayu joked.

“Okay, I think you should go to bed, Sayu.” Light ruffled her hair. “And tomorrow, stick with Ryuk and make sure to be safe.”

“Will-do, big bro!” Sayu fluffed his hair back and skipped to the room down the hall. 

That night Light would lay in bed, wondering if the person following them was really just a detective.  
_________________________________________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! 
> 
> As for the question: 
> 
> I plan on introducing L (in person) in one or two chapters, and I was thinking of adding an original character of my own... I don’t wanna spoil anything about their job/what they’re doing, but they will help introduce LGBTQIA+ themes (and may or may not give Sayu someone to simp over ö) this oc is inspired by myself (?) mostly looks, personality wise and my own issues with homophobia and my gender identity! 
> 
> I’d like to know what you think about adding them to the story! And again, I love hearing any kind of feedback or just if I made a mistake!


	4. Face-To-Face

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kira tests out more rules in the Death Note in order for their plan to continue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! This chapter took a little longer than usual, so I apologize for that... it’s a little long to compromise! I think I did two episodes worth of the story(?) I hope you like it! I intend to get less and less canon as the story continues, so please bare with that!

•The Following Morning At Task Force Headquarters•

Soichiro Yagami was sitting at his desk re-reading files for who knows how many times, waiting for updates, when his office phone rang.

He picked it up hastily.

“Yeah, it’s me.” He answered. “Another six inmates were found dead last night? All were heart attacks? It’s Kira. What? Bizarre behavior before they died? Could you be more specific? What do you mean? So they didn’t just die of heart attacks.” The Chief questioned.

“No,” The detective on the other side of the line said, “what I’m saying is they all died of heart attacks, but it wasn’t just that simple. Before one of them died, he drew a pentagram on the wall of his cell using his own blood. Another left a letter, but it doesn’t seem to be a will or anything meaningful. And as for the third victim, he escaped from his cell and ran all the way to the staff bathrooms before he died.”  
_________________________________________  
•Unknown•

Watari paged L. 

“What is it, Watari?” L requested. 

“Three more heart attack victims, but the circumstances of their deaths are different from what we’ve seen thus far.” Watari continued.

“What do you mean by “different”?” Asked L.

“I’m sending you a copy of a letter as well as pictures taken at the scene.” Watari replied. 

“Okay.”

L carefully looked at the bright screen searching for any clues that would help him find Kira and throw them and jail where they belong. He was starting to take this ‘game’ seriously. 

‘It sounds like he was afraid that Kira would find him. It’s believable that our victim might have been genuinely afraid and wrote this... but we know Kira can control the time of death. What if they can also determine the actions in the moments leading up to death?’ L pondered. ‘What could allow Kira to do such things?’ 

Crazy thoughts with even crazier unknown answers. Lots of people wanted to know how Kira killed. L hoped to have a nice chat with them about just that before he sends them off to get executed. 

In which case...  
_________________________________________  
•TFH•

“Chief!” L spoke urgently. 

“Huh?”

“We can’t release details of these men’s deaths to the media. As far as they’re concerned, these are just heart attacks.”

People all around the room stared at the back of the room where Watari and the computer were sitting. 

“I have reason to believe that Kira was preforming some kind of test using these criminals. And if that’s the case, we’d only be giving them the results of this information if we go public.” L finished.

“Right, I understand.” Soichiro confirmed. 

Detectives in the room started mumbling to themselves and others. 

“So, now they’re experimenting on their victims?” One sneered.

“Horrible.” Another commented. 

The Chief spoke up. “They’re playing with people’s lives, as if this was all just a game. It’s unforgivable.”  
_________________________________________  
•Unknown•

L was on the floor in a dark empty room with nothing but his computer monitor light as means to see elsewhere, thinking:

‘If Kira is really using criminals as test subjects... what’re they trying to achieve? In any case, I might need some assistance.’   
_________________________________________  
•Lights Room•

“Look at this, guys!” Sayu shouted.

Light and Ryuk were playing Mario Kart on the TV while Sayu was looking on Lights computer when she found the files containing details on Kira’s latest victims. 

“Ah-! Aw man. You made me loose.” Light grumbled. “And next time, maybe don’t announce you’ve found something to the entire block and save my ears. You made me lose my streak against Ryuk. D’you know how many apples I owe him now?”

“Fifteen! Hyuk hyuk!” Ryuk happily answered for her. 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Complain all you want later. You need to see what Kira’s done with their latest victims!” Sayu beckoned. 

“Okay, just don’t yell again. What happened?”

“I forget you’re a baby when it comes to yelling.” Sayu taunted. “Anyways,” She continued. “Kira must’ve needed to test out the details of death rule. The victims were all criminals already in prison. One of them escaped and ran into a bathroom. Another one drew a symbol in blood on the wall before he died. And finally, the third wrote a letter.”

“It says that three other inmates just died of the usual heart attack. I’m thinking either Kira wrote virtually impossible things in the notebook to see how far the boundaries were, or they just killed them off cause they had free time.” Light guessed. “Another thing, I bet they killed inmates because they would have an easy ‘crime’ scene with good pictures, since they were in prison nothing would be missed.” 

“You’ve got that right.” Sayu agreed. “I think I’ve got something, too. You see that note? If you read the top line, it’s says ‘L, do you know’. Is this a message to L or am I insane?”

“You’re right! It’s not a full message though, I wonder what the rest is...”  
_________________________________________  
•Unknown•

L was still sitting alone in the room, looking over the evidence on his screen. 

‘If Kira used those criminals to conduct an experiment of some sort, it means they’re about to start something. If they move now, there’s a good chance the FBI will notice someone acting suspiciously. But perhaps they have a different goal in mind altogether. Could the pentagram and this letter be some kind of message? Is this it?’ 

‘L, do you know?’  
_________________________________________  
•The Space Land Bus Stop•

‘Is he still following us?’

Yesterday, Sachiko came to Light and Sayu saying she got free Space Land tickets that expire tomorrow from their old neighbors, and told them to have a late celebration of Light getting top scores on the nationwide practice exam. Ryuk decided to stay home, since there was nothing much he could do at Space Land. So, of course, here they are waiting for the bus. With no Shinigami. 

Raye Penber hid underneath the nearby staircase watching the Yagami siblings. Waiting for what to do next. 

‘During the week, he goes to school and cram school at night. Goes out with his little sister, Sayu Yagami, occasionally. Two normal kids. Just a hardworking senior in high school. And your average freshman. Chief Yagamis children, Light and Sayu Yagami. No cause for suspicion.’ 

Raye followed the kids onto the Space Land bus that just arrived, and went to the back seat. 

‘At any rate, I’ll be done with my surveillance today. And that’ll be it.’ 

“I really don’t get it, Light.” Sayu complained. “How did you get top scores on a nationwide exam? I just barely pass my freshman classes. Why’d you have to get all the smart genes? Gimmie some!”

“It’s all the time I spend studying, Sayu, you should try that sometime.” Light teased back. “But honestly, you’re doing just fine the way you’re headed.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Sayu sighed. “I’m kinda glad that I’m not getting forced into anything like you... It’s crazy how you just let Dad tell you what to do and what you’re going to do for the rest of your life.” 

“C’mon Sayu.” Light lightly jabbed at her rib cage. “It’s fine! I like detective work enough to make it my profession.” 

‘Liar.’ 

That voice just won’t shut up, will it? 

“But I’ve seen your short stories! They’re amazing! You could totally make money off of that!” Sayu exclaimed.

“Shhhh...” Light covered her mouth and whisper-yelled at her. “Not so loud! We’re on a bus, remember!”

“Oh right. Sorry.” She whispered back, glancing at the detective following her and her brother. “Anyways, we’re out of apples. If I ever want him to do anything for me, we need those. Plus you lost that bet. Why’d you bet fifteen? What was the other side of the deal?”

“Yeah, we do need apples. I bet fifteen cause I’m petty, and he wagered that if he lost he would get me a rock from the moon. I’ve been using that one for awhile but I keep losing...” 

They kept talking about apples, and what not, leaving Raye confused out of his mind. 

‘Apples? The moon? Who needs that many apples? And how would you get a rock straight from the moon? Maybe it’s a video game... kids are into those these days...’

The bus stopped to pick up one more person at the stop. The man walked on and- “Click.”

“Stay in your seats unless you wanna die!” He hollered.

The man had a gun to the bus drivers head, and was facing the passengers.  
There were small gasps of surprise around the bus but no one got up or said anything.

‘A bus-jacking? You gotta be kidding me.’

“Everybody, shut up! If anybody moves I’m putting a bullet in their head.” He looked down at the bus-driver he was still holding the gun to. “Alright, driver, you listen to me. I know you’ve got the number for Space Land’s office on you. Call ‘em!”

“O-Okay.” The bus-driver stammered and picked up his radio. 

“This- This is Sasaki, calling from bus 174.”

“Tell ‘em what’s goin’ on, and no tricks either!” The hijacker snapped. 

“My bus has been hijacked and he’s holding a gun to my head!” 

“Gimmie that!” He harshly grabbed the radio from Sasakis trembling hands. “You heard what he said. Now you listen up!” He yelled as he pointed the gun towards the other hostages, “Have a female staff member bring all of Space Land’s cash from yesterday. I know it’s there. Have her meet us two bus stops from the park. And don’t make me wait! If you mess with me at all or try to get the police involved, I swear I’ll kill every one of these passengers.”

He grunted as he threw the radio onto the floor of the bus and stomped on it. Breaking it to pieces.

A girl, mostly likely the same age as the high schooler in front of her, next to the calm Raye, began to write on a piece of paper and show it to Light over his shoulder, it read: “Don’t be scared. As soon as he turns around, I’m gonna grab the gun out of his hand.” 

“Don’t be stupid. That’s risky.” Raye talked quiet and fast to the girl and Light. “If it comes to that, I’ll take care of it.” 

The girl was writing something down again when she was interrupted by Raye saying, “Its okay. We don’t have to pass notes back and fourth. As long as we keep it down, he won’t be able to hear our voices over the sound of the engine.”

Instead of finishing what she was writing, she sighed and stuffed the paper in her jacked pocket. 

“Do you have any proof that you’re not his accomplice?” She requested. “Why should we trust you?”

“Accomplice?” Sayu shakily whispered. 

“Yes, My older brother had told me about this before. The first hijacker comes in like he’s working alone. Meanwhile, a second one pretends to be a hostage and stays in the very back, just in case something goes wrong.” She recited. 

“You really think he is one?” Sayu questioned. 

“It’s possible...” Light whispered in response. 

‘I’ve- I’ve no choice. I’m sure Light Yagami isn’t Kira. If he was, he could just kill this guy with a heart attack.’ Raye was inwardly panicking 

The only way he could convince the teenagers on the bus that he wasn’t an accomplice was to do the worst thing possible: Show his ID. 

He took out his ID and showed it to the teens. 

“Here’s proof. Take a look.” 

‘FBI?’ Light thought. ‘I was just expecting a normal cop. This is definitely L’s work. They needed an outsider, so they got the FBI to investigate anyone connected to the Japanese police. His name is... Raye Penber.’

Light showed it closer to Sayu, then handed it back so Raye could have the suspicious girl take a look. 

Then Sayu looked up at Raye and said, “I’ll ask you later about an FBI agent being on the bus to Space Land, but I think you’re good.”

The girl poked at Rayes shoulder, “Do you have a gun?” 

“Yeah, I’ve got one.”

“So, when it comes to it, I can count on you, right?”

“Yes.”

The girl was about to speak again when- 

“Shut the hell up, you old hag!” Yelled the hijacker at an elderly woman. “You want me to shoot you right now?”

Light slowly moved his arm around Sayus shoulder to help calm her with a loose hug, when Raye made a conclusion. 

‘That’s right! This guy, his face was all over the local news just a few days ago. Some junkie who tried to rob a bank and ended up killing three people before he got away. He’s extremely dangerous.’ 

The girl pulled her hands out of her pockets, to fix her hair, when a piece of paper fell out of her pocket. As she reached down to pick it up, the hijacker started to yell at her, 

“Don’t move, you little brat! What the hell is that?” He walked forwards. “Smart-ass. You guys were planning something back here, weren’t ya?” 

‘Damnit. If he sees that note from before, he’ll find out that girl was planning to jump on him and take his gun away.’ Raye worried. 

The man unfolded the note and read: 

‘Grocery list: 

Peppers  
Bread  
Milk  
Spiders  
Tea  
Rice  
Pork’

“Grocery list, huh?” He huffed. “Stupid kid has spiders written down.” He then preceded to throw the wad of paper back at her, hit her square on the forehead, and start to walk towards the front again.

“Huh?” He looked back again and gasped. “Who- Who the hell are you? You in the very back! What do you think you’re doing? Don’t mess with me! How long have you been hiding back there?” He shrieked scampering awayfrom something, or rather, someone. 

He paused like that something was responding to him and hollered, “Stay there, you! You keep away from me, you freak!” With his gun pointed high. 

‘This isn’t good. He’s hallucinating!’ Raye reasoned, and reached into his jacket. 

“Everyone, get down!” His voice echoed loud in the bus. 

Light moved his hand from Sayus shoulder to head and pulled her close and downwards, while everyone else ducked low and hid under their hands.

The hijacker stood, shaking, in the middle of the isle, perplexed by something. He stumbled backwards, still pointing his gun, pathetically roared, “Get away!” and shot his gun through the window, shattering glass. He screamed and shot all the rounds. Even after he used all the bullets, he continued to feverishly pull the trigger.

Raye bolted forwards, out of his seat, towards the hijacker, causing him to run away and beg. “Stop the bus! Lemme off!”  
The driver complied and the bus made a screeching halt. 

He quickly jumped off the bus, tripping over his own two feet, and fell in the middle of the road. Soon to be crushed by a speeding car. 

Behind Light, the girl checked her watch. 

Eleven forty-five.  
_________________________________________  
•The Yagami Household•

The siblings day had been pretty much ruined at that point. They both decided it would be best to ditch Space Land and go home to clear their minds. Light and Sayu told their mom the bare-minimum, not mentioning the girl, Raye Penber, or the notes. The story still got off horrifyingly well by a mother’s terms. She clarified that she wanted to make them hot chocolate “For the nerves.” before they went to hang out in Lights room, as they always did. 

Coco in hand, they went up the stairs to Lights computer. There was a silent agreement that they would go look up the bus hijacker. Once they found him, Light read aloud, “Kiichiro Osoreda.”

“D’you think the Death Note was involved with this one? Accidental death is a valid cause of death in there.” Sayu asked. 

“Maybe? I don’t have enough context. Would Kira have been on that bus, if he died cause of the Death Note it would be a a big possibility.” 

“Uhg! Detective work is harddd!” Sayu complained.  
_________________________________________  
•Raye Penbers Apartment•

After a long day, Raye walked into his apartment to see his fiancé, Naomi, sitting down and reading a book. 

“Hey, welcome back.” She greeted with a smile. 

“Ugh... what a day.” He sighed, while slipping his coat off. 

“Raye, what’s the matter? Something happened, didn’t it? I’ve never heard you sigh like that.” 

“Yeah.” Raye confirmed as he loosened his tie. “The bus I was on got hijacked, if you can believe it.”

Naomi had gotten up to get mugs for coffee. “A bus-jacking?” She asked, concerned.

“Some junkie robbed a bank two days ago and I guess he wanted to try taking on a bus today.” He elaborated. “I didn’t think this kind of thing happened here.”

They were in Japan so Raye could meet Naomis parents before their upcoming wedding. They had met in America as FBI agents but now Naomi was retired, even through she still had interest in detective work.

“So,” Naomi started, “you were already riding the bus when the hijacker got on?” 

“Yeah.” He answered. “And in the end, the guy freaked out, jumped off the bus and got hit by a car.” 

“Did he die?”

“Yeah. Probably. I couldn’t really stick around to see what happened to him.” Raye said.

“You know...” Naomi stopped and sighed. 

“Hm?” 

“It’s a little hard to believe that that was all a coincidence, don’t you think?” She questioned. 

“What do you mean?” Raye asked.

“Think about it.” Naomi nudged. “You got on that bus because you were investigating someone, right? And now you’re telling me that this criminal is most likely dead. Doesn’t this suggest that you that-“

“That’s enough.” Raye interrupted. “Look, darling, you and I know you used to be one of the best agents in the FBI. But now you’re my fiancé, Naomi. We talked about this. You’re not an agent anymore, so just leave it alone.” 

Raye had been like this ever since Naomi had agreed to retire. Sure, he may have just wanted to look out for his fiancé’s safety, but she was still one of the most capable women in America’s FBI. If anything, Raye is the one who needed to settle down and have someone watch out for his safety. 

“But...” Naomi wanted to object, but was interrupted again. 

“You wouldn’t get involved with the Kira case. And you wouldn’t do anything dangerous. That’s what you promised when we decided you’d come with me, so I could meet your parents in Japan. You do remember that, don’t you?” 

Of course she remembered, how could she not? That promise had bugged her for weeks. As much as she loved Raye, she had regretted ever retiring, ever promising, ever complying. She just knew that if she got to work with L again she could help them make more progress than ever before. But here she was. A soon-to-be housewife. 

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. It’s just force of habit. Sorry about that.” Naomi sighed. You know what else was force of habit? Bending the truth. 

“No... I should be sorry. Let’s forget about it.” This was Rayes way of apologizing. Taking part of the blame and dropping the subject. It worked most of the time. 

“Anyway, once we have a few kids running around, you’ll probably be so busy you’ll forget you were ever an agent. Your mind will be occupied with better things too.”

That’s not what she wanted though. She loved her life as an agent. That’s not something she ever wanted to forget. It’s something she wants to tell stories about to her children. Why can’t he wrap his head around it? Open your mouth, Naomi, say something. 

“More importantly,” Raye continued, “tell me how I can convince your dad I’m worthy of her daughter. Kira doesn’t scare me half as much as he does.” 

Naomi let out an awkward chuckle and a sigh of relief for the changed subject.  
_________________________________________  
•Unknown•

L’s pager beeped and Watari got his attention. 

“L.” Watari said through the speaker. 

“Hm?”

“Another victim.” He continued. “This one left what appears to be a suicide note.” 

“Please, send it to me.” L requested.

L looked at his computer and read: ‘Gods of Death’. On the top line, like in the other note which read: ‘L, do you know?’

‘L, do you know? Gods of Death? Are they trying to tell us that Gods of Death exist?’ As of now, L was stumped.

“Listen, Watari.” L requested. “Tell the police to monitor prison populations closely for the next few days. Kira may use other suicide notes to communicate with us.”

“Understood.” Watari confirmed.  
_________________________________________  
•December 27th, Evening After Raye Penber and FBI Agents Death•

“L... You have a call from the director of the FBI.” Watari reported. 

“It’s me.” The director confirmed. “I’ve got a report in front of me right now stating that all of our agents in Japan are dead. All 12 died of heart attacks. I can only assume that Kira’s behind this. Look, I’m sorry, but... It’s already decided. We’re calling off our investigation.”

The director hung up and Ls computer beeped again. “I have Chief Yagami on the line.” Watari called for a second time.

This time it was Soichiro Yagami on the phone. 

“L, I’ve just got off the phone with the Director of the FBI. According to him, it seems that you arranged for the FBI to come to Japan and investigate everyone here associated with the task force.” The Chief waited for confirmation. 

“Yes, I did.” L confirmed. 

“So, how do you explain this? Are we now suspects in our own investigation?” 

“I felt that it was necessary to uncover Kira’s identity.” L explained vaguely.

“I cannot accept that.” Soichiro stated. “I find it unbelievable that you would spy on us, the very people working with you on this case.” 

“Ya hear that?” One detective started. “Well, I knew all along we couldn’t trust that person, more importantly, Kira killed those FBI agents, didn’t they?”

“It’s obvious they’ll kill anyone who gets in their way. Weather they’re criminals or not.” A second detective answered. “So much for their sense of justice. They’re a murderer.” 

Back at Ls unknown whereabouts, Watari called again. 

“We have another victim. A note was found at the scene.” 

L, do you know? Gods of Death... 

L looked at his computer screen for the note. 

...’Love spiders.’

‘Damn you, Kira!’ L cursed.  
_________________________________________  
•Raye Penbers Apartment•

Naomi sat alone in the dark living room of her once shared apartment. 

“He’s dead.” She whispered. “Raye’s dead. No, he was... he was murdered by Kira.”  
____________________________________  
•The Yagami Household•

“Um, so... What’s with the family meeting, Dad?” Sayu asked.

The four Yagamis were situated at their table waiting for Soichiro to explain what the arrangement was all about. 

“I figured you’re going to find out sooner or later. So, I might as well tell you now. I don’t want you to be alarmed. I’m sure you’ve heard of this Kira investigation. Well, I am currently in charge of it.”

A lot of suspense for nothing. ‘Thanks, Dad.’ The siblings thought in unison. 

To keep up the act, Sayu had to act like her ‘usual’ self.

“What? Are you serious? That’s totally awesome, Dad. You’re the best cop ever.” She exclaimed with fake enthusiasm. 

“That’s not quite the point I’m trying to make.” Soichiro dimmed the ‘excitement’ in the room. 

“Oh?” 

“You see, the truth is... the FBI sent twelve of their agents to Japan to assist us in finding Kira. And all of them... died yesterday.” 

“Does that mean they were killed by Kira?” Lights voiced was laced in face concern. He and Sayu found this out hours ago, but they couldn’t say anything, so they played along. 

“What?!” Sayu was an awful actor. But luckily, her entire aura gave off that vibe. 

“What I’m saying is there’s a chance that Kira will actually try to kill anyone who comes after them. Their crimes are ruthless and more frightening than anything we’ve ever seen. Many detectives have already quit.” Soichiro concluded.

“Dad, you should quit too!” Sayu begged, knowing the outcome. “I don’t want you to die! What if they get you?” 

“That’s right.” Sachiko finally said. “Your life is so much more important than some job.” 

“I can’t.” Soichiro denied. “I could never forgive myself if I walked away from this. I will nor sit back and let evil triumph.” 

“B-But Dad, you...” Sayu was running out of ideas. 

“Please, dear...”

Luckily, Light stepped in. 

“I think it’s honorable of you, Dad.” He said as he stood up. “I’m proud to be able to call you my father.” ‘Liar’. “And if anything should ever happen to you, I’m going to find Kira and make sure they get executed.” 

Light had walked over to the door ad left, with Sayu following shortly after. 

“You wanted to get out of there so bad you played the ‘Be nice to Dad card’?” Sayu teased. “I was just gonna play along, it was almost hilarious. I’m glad Ryuk stayed in my room.” She giggled. 

Sayu had an odd sense of humor, to say the least.  
_________________________________________  
•NPA HQ•

“We now know that Kira doesn’t just target criminals. They’ll kill anyone who opposes them. It’s quite possible we may all be killed by Kira. Think of your own lives, your families, and all the others you’d be leaving behind. If anyone wants to leave this investigation, now is the time.”

Soichiro was sitting at his front desk, talking to all the detectives in the task force. 

“You won’t be demoted if you choose not to stay. You have my word. But if you’re not absolutely sure than we don’t need you. You have to be willing to fight against them, even if that means making the ultimate sacrifice. That is all.” The Chief finished his speech and left all the detectives thinking. 

“So... what are you gonna do?” One asked another. 

“I’m not sure.” He answered.  
_________________________________________  
•Space Land Parking-Lot•

“Oh, yeah. That’s him, alright. There’s no doubt about it.” 

The bus-driver from a few weeks ago was holding a picture of Raye Penber and Naomi Misora, identifying the man in the picture. 

“I remember him because he told us to get down. But I don’t really remember any of the other passengers.”

“I see.” Naomi said. “Well, thanks for talking with me, anyway. I appreciate it.” 

She took the photo back and started walking back home. 

‘It’s a bit of a long shot.’ Naomi thought. ‘But if what I’m thinking is right... Kira could have been one of the passengers on the bus that day. And if that’s the case, then I know that they’re close enough to use this bus route.’  
_________________________________________  
•NPA HQ•

Six detectives, including the Chief, either stood or sat remaining in the NPA headquarters. 

“Five men, huh? Well, six including myself. Still, I’m grateful to see that there are as many as five of you willing to risk your lives to face evil.” Soichiro thanked. 

“The fact that you’ve chosen to stay means you have a strong sense of justice. I trust all of you.” L spoke through their scrambled voice on the computer. 

“Huh? Hol- Hold on a second. L just said that they’ve decided to trust us now. But honestly, what reason do we have to trust them?” One of the five detectives, Aizawa, demanded. 

“Look, L,” Ide said. “all of us have agreed to put our lives at risk to bring Kira to justice. So, I hope you understand what this means. We’re really sticking our necks out here.”

“But you never have to show your face, do you?” Aizawa finished, “You just give the orders. I don’t see how you can expect us to work alongside you under those conditions.” 

“L.” Soichiro said, “If all of us are going to work together on this investigation, and if you truly meant what you said about trusting the six of us, could you come here, so we can meet in person?” 

But L was already on it. 

“The thought had already crossed my mind.” L admitted. “After all, I did say that I trusted all of you.” 

Watari flipped the computer towards the detectives to reveal a typed message.

‘Please, keep what’s about to happen a secret between the eight of us. I would like to meet the six of you whom I trust as soon as possible. Before that, I want all of you to go outside of the police building and decide once more if you trust me or not.’  
_________________________________________

“Why are they seeking our help now? There’s only six of us.” Ukita asked outside of the building. 

“They’ve solved all these difficult cases by themself in the past. So, what makes this different?” Ide questioned as well. “The way L’s been conducting things so far, odds are they’re gonna send a stand-in or a proxy of some kind to meet us, instead of coming themself. It’s not like we’d ever know.”

“A proxy, huh?” Aizawa asked, “Well, it is possible.”

Matsuda spoke up, “I believe L. I think we can trust them. And besides, I don’t really see how we can solve this case without their help.”

“I agree.” Mogi said. 

“From the beginning they’ve been very upfront about the fact that they’d need the help from the police on this case.” The Chief said, “Perhaps we should think of it like... they’ve been waiting for this to happen all along.” 

“Why would they do something like that?” Matsuda asked. 

“There were a number of people on the task force who distrusted L before this investigation began. And once we got started, we had detectives resigning left and right. Following that, classified information was leaked. So, I’m not surprised that they didn’t trust us.” Soichiro explained.

“In other words,” Matsuda said. “they were waiting for the task force to get narrowed down to only those investigators they could trust. And to do that, they needed to weed out anyone who wasn’t totally committed.” 

Matsuda wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but he has his moments of insight. 

Ide growled and raised his voice. “If we’re working with that detective, I’m leaving the task force. You don’t have to worry. I won’t try to follow you. I’m not interested in finding L.” He stormed back into the building leaving five detectives. 

“Well, I think we can trust L,” Ukita said. “so I’d be willing to cooperate with them on this investigation.”

“Count me in.” Aizawa said.  
_________________________________________

‘I am staying in a suite at the Teito Hotel at the moment. But I’ll be switching hotels every few days from this point on. I want you to think of these hotel rooms as the de facto headquarters of this investigation. If this arrangement is acceptable to all of you, then split into two groups and stagger your arrival, so you come thirty minutes apart. Please, arrange it, so you’re all here at midnight.’  
_________________________________________  
•Ls Room At The Teito Hotel•

‘Kira... it seems we’re getting closer to each other in equal steps. It’s only a matter of time before we collide. So be it. I’m ready to show my face. I’ll make my first public appearance as L. If you ever manage to find out about these secret meetings, I’m sure you’d feel compelled to move in. That’s what I’m counting on.’ 

L was having his internal monologue minutes before his face-to-face debut, waiting for the task force to arrive. 

Then, there was a knock on the hotel door. 

They’re here. 

“It’s unlocked.” L answered. “Please, let yourselves in.”  
_________________________________________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! Does this count as a Kira introduction? If you couldn’t tell, I did, in fact, introduce our Kira! For reference: she is completely an original character, but also highly influenced by OG Death Note Light so I could keep the story kind of similar (Kira wise).
> 
> As of right now have a backstory(-ish) and a Shinigami design (also an original character, but not influenced by anyone in the show.) I’m currently using my limited artistic skill and drawing the basic design. I’d be happy to show a character sheet in the next chapter if you’d like!
> 
> (Just tell me in the comments if you would, but I might just do it anyways...)
> 
> I’m not gonna show our Kira’s sheet because stuff about her will probably be introduced later in other chapters... I’m working on it, I promise! 
> 
> Thank you for reading and stay tuned for more! And as always, please tell me if I’ve made any mistakes because I wrote half of this at 2-5 am and I’m uploading at school again...


	5. Unique Encounters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Task Force enters the hotel room. Sayu and Light go on a trip, with a suspected yet unexpected twist, that doesn’t end in picking up potato chips. Kira’s profile in Lights head had been updated. What next?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo 😧🤚 time flew by this week and I may or may not have finished this chapter in two late night sessions (I’ve been high key just recovering from the newest AOT episode but my energy has regained after the newest TPN episode). Enough about my lack of time management, on to the story!

•Teito Hotel•

Chief Yagami and the four remaining detectives stood in the doorway, staring at a man dressed in blue jeans and a white long sleeved t-shirt, with god awful posture.

“I am L.” He spoke monotonously.

‘This is him?’ Soichiro wondered. 

“Hmm. He’s nothing like I thought he’d be.” Matsuda whispered. 

Soichiro plucked his ID out of his coat pocket and showed it to L. “I’m Yagami of the NPA.”

The others followed the Chiefs lead, and introduced themselves with their IDs out. 

“I’m Matsuda.”

“I’m Aizawa.”

“Mogi.”

“Ukita.”

“I’m very sorry we’re late.” Soichiro apologized. “Currently the five of us are-“

He was distracted by L lifting his hand into a finger gun, as he slowly, and emotionlessly said, “Bang!” 

“Huh?”, “What the hell was that?” The detectives asked.

“If I were Kira you would be dead, Mr. Soichiro Yagami, Chief of the NPA.” L explained. 

“Ryuzaki! What did I tell you about introductions?” A young voice yelled in English. 

L seemed to ignore this voice and continue his statement. 

“Kira needs a face and a name in order to commit murder, but I’m sure you’ve already figured that much out, haven’t you? Please do not give out your names so carelessly. Instead, lest value our lives.”

“I knew that they needed a face to kill someone, but I don’t remember any evidence that showed that they needed a name too. Also, what’s up with that voice? That was English right? They sounded like a kid.” Matsuda questioned.

“There’s been no way to verify if this is related to criminals whose names were never released publicly or whose names were spelled incorrectly in the media have not been targeted. We briefly went over it at one of our meetings.” The Chief answered. “And yes, that was English. I find it quite odd to have a child here.”

“That’s enough small talk for now. Come this way.” He started to walk through the doorway into the sitting room. 

“Oh, right.”

“Please turn off all your cellphones, handhelds, and any other communication devices and leave them on the table right there.” L requested.

“What? Do you think we’re going to be using our cellphones during this meeting to leak information?” Aizawa demanded.

“It’s alright. Just do as he says.”

“I realize he’s been cautious from the very beginning,” Matsuda started, as everyone put their cellphones on the table, “but I still can’t tell if he trusts us or not.” 

“No,” L cleared up, “I just find them distracting. I can’t stand it when peoples cellphones are ringing while I’m trying to talk.”

L sat down in his chair with his knees pulled up to his chest, sitting like a frog. 

There was another person in the room too. A teenager, maybe fifteen, wearing pale blue jeans cuffed at the ankle, glasses, an American band t-shirt, and a flannel. A lot more materialistic than Ls outfit. They had blond hair tied up in a short ponytail with the front strands pulled out that they messed and twirled with as they we’re setting down a try of tea and sweets on the coffee table. 

Once they noticed the task force was there they sat up, better than Ls standards, and awkwardly waved a bit. 

“Ah- Hello! I’m V. It’s nice to meet you all.” (A/n: said like the letter, “vee”, just like L is said “el”, if that makes sense.)

“Oh, yes,” L started, “this is V. They’re an assistant here that is training to be Watari. They handle a lot of social interactions and financial issues, along with deliveries. I ask that you treat them with as much respect as you would with me or Watari. They are a valuable member of the ‘team’, despite how young they are.”

V crossed their arms and looked at L. “You know, you could have introduced yourself like that. I mean, I appreciate what you said and all, but you need to work on it. You need to remember you’re the number one detective.”

“Yes, yes, I know. We had this conversation roughly three minutes ago. I don’t believe I need your speech again.” L responded. 

“Anyways,” V looked at the task force, “like he said, I’m like a second Watari so, I will be working with you on the force along with the real Watari. I apologize for my Japanese, it’s fairly new to my vocabulary. And, yeah. Alright, please continue...” V stepped out of the room.

“Alright, let me start by saying nobody takes notes on anything that’s said in these meetings.” L was still sitting in his frog like position. V had looked used to it, so it must be normal around here. “That means, when we leave Headquarters, any information we need is committed to memory. Please, make yourselves comfortable.”

“Uh, right.” Yagami grunted. 

The rest of the task force followed him forward towards the chairs and couch. 

L loudly sipped the tea V had brought earlier and sighed, adding six more sugar cubes into what had already been thoroughly sweetened before. 

“Excuse me, L?” Matsuda started to ask. 

“Hmm? And from now on, I’ll have to ask you to stop calling me “L.” It’s “Ryuzaki” now, just to be safe.” L informed. 

“Uh, okay, Ryuzaki...” Matsuda corrected, “if we know that they need a name and a face to kill, couldn’t we cut down on the number of victims by keeping criminals’ names from the news?” 

“If we do that, we’ll only be putting the general public at risk.” L stated. 

“The general public?” “Why?” Ukita and Aizawa asked. 

“Kira is childish and hates losing.” L answered. 

“But how do you-“ Matsuda started to ask, only to get cut off by the Chief asking, “What do you mean?”

“Well... I’m also childish and I hate to lose. That’s how I know.” L answered. 

Everyone could hear a small giggle from V outside the room. 

“Ryuzaki... Would you mind being a little more specific for us?” Soichiro waited for an answer. 

L took a moment to finish sipping his tea, and said, “Early on in the investigation, I tried to provoke Kira with the broadcast. Up until then, we thought that Kira would only go after criminals. But as we all witnessed, they didn’t hesitate to kill my stand-in. Also, as soon as I said we knew they were in the Kanto region, in defiance, they made sure their next victims came from within Japan, as if to say ‘What are you gonna do about it?’”

He slurped his tea again. 

“They’ve met each of my challenges head on and they’ve never missed an opportunity to return the favor. Now, what do you think would happen if we tried to use media restrictions to hide criminals from someone like that?”

“I guess...”

“‘If you choose to withhold the names of your worst criminals, I’ll kill petty criminals or the innocent. I’m holding the whole world hostage, so who’s it gonna be? I’m not the evil one here. But all those who oppose me by hiding criminals, you are truly evil.’” L sighed, and continued, “That’s exactly how Kira thinks. In any case, let’s look at another way we can use the media to draw them out.”

“But how?” asked Aizawa

“How about something like this?” L started with an example, “‘Death of FBI agents infuriates the U.S. Latest killings anger the international policing community. Nations agree to send fifteen-hundred investigators to Japan.’ For Kira, this will be way beyond what they faced with the FBI. They’ll see everyone as a potential threat. Psychologically, they’ll start to feel cornered, and that will cause them to take some kind of drastic action.”

“T-That’s interesting.” Ukita commented.

“So they’ll think there are fifteen-hundred, when there really are only eight of us. And since none of these investigators exist, Kira won’t be able to kill them.” Aizawa summed up the plan, thoughtfully.

“It just might work!” Ukita exclaimed. 

“Well, before we celebrate,” L started, “I’ll tell you the rest of my thoughts on the Kira case.”

The Task Force answered in silence. 

“Kira works alone. They had access to all our classified information.” L said while chewing on his thumb. 

“What evidence do you have that they’re working alone?” Aizawa asked.

“Hold on, Aizawa.” The Chief interrupted, “Lets listen to his entire theory before asking questions.”

“We know they need a name and a face to kill.” L continued, “And, to some extent, they can control a victims time of death and their actions before dying. We already know this much. Please keep that in mind...” L pulled out a marker from... somewhere... and uncapped it, “and listen carefully to what I have to say next.”

He started to draw what he was saying in the table in front of them. 

“On December 14th, twelve FBI investigators entered Japan. And here we are I. December 19th... Using prison inmates, Kira conducts experiments, manipulating their victims’ actions before they die. In other words, during this window of only five days, Kira became aware of the FBI’s presence and obviously felt threatened. Because they didn’t know any of their names or faces, they were at a disadvantage. They needed to know how much control they had over their victims before they could use it against the twelve agents. And as we all know, on December 27th... During this period, to the best of our knowledge, at least twenty-three individuals died of heart attacks. But these victims were different from Kira’s previous targets. They were all alleged criminals, ex-convicts, or suspects in ongoing investigations. So, legally speaking, they were innocent. What this indicates is that Kira had to manipulate these lesser criminals in order to kill those FBI agents. They killed that many people so we’d be unable to tell the decoys from those who were actually used. In truth, they probably only needed a few. They waited eight days so the FBI could investigate other suspects, which meant there’d be no timeline linking them to their deaths. I suspect Kira had to be one of the people being investigated by the FBI, between the 14th and the 19th of December. In fact, I have no doubt.”

L had a tendency to rant non-stop when he explained things. 

“These are files provided by the FBI. And they contain additional information you might find useful. For obvious reasons, you’re not permitted to take these out of this room. But-“ Ls spewl was interrupted by Matsuda shouting, 

“Amazing! There might only be five of us, but with this much information, we should be able to cover a lot of ground!” He referred to the people in the room.

“We’ll split into two teams. One team traces the FBI agents, the other looks at heart attack victims.” Aizawa started to plan. 

“There weren’t that many people who had access to information from headquarters. And of those, the FBI only investigated a small group in the first five days.” Matsuda said. 

“Yeah. Yeah...”

L looked back up, unimpressed by Matsudas interruption. “So, does anyone have any questions?”

“Actually, Ryuzaki, I do have one question for you. And it pertains to what you said to us earlier about how you hate to lose. Does the fact that you’ve shown us your face mean that you’ve lost? Even V, which no one knew about was revealed. Does just being here admit defeat to Kira?” Soichiro asked. 

“That’s right.” L answered, “By showing Vs and my faces to you now and by sacrificing the lives of twelve FBI agents, I have lost the battle. But I’m not going to lose the war.” L stared at the task force, “This is the first time I’ve ever put my life in the line. I want to show Kira that we’re all willing to risk our lives, if that’s what it takes.” He chuckled, “And that justice will prevail, no matter what.”

“Hey, yeah, that’s right.” Mogi agreed.

“I like the sound of that.” “We can do this!” And “All right then. Let’s do this, Ryuzaki.” Echoed through the room. 

“Before we go any further, I have to be absolutely sure that none of you are Kira. So I’ll need to speak with each of you individually before you leave today.” L explained. 

“What’s the deal? He still doesn’t trust us?” Aizawa complained. 

“No. I think it’s a fair request.” Soichiro butted in, “Try to see it from his perspective. Kira’s been getting information from our headquarters from the very beginning. So there’s a good chance that they’re one of us.”

“Chief’s right.” Matsuda agreed, “working this case had given us a chance to see him in person.”

“He’s risking his life to be here.”  
_________________________________________  
•The Yagami Household•

“What?” Sayu whined. “Does it have to be now?” 

She and Light were sitting in the living room, debating on wether tomato’s were a fruit or not, when Sachiko came up to Sayu with a bag asking her to take clean clothes to their father.

“Your father’s been pulling overnighters with no change of clothes. So you’re going to bring this to him.” She demanded.

Sayu looked up at her, “But, Mom, Light and I are totally having a very important conversation. We still don’t know the answer!” 

“Why don’t we both go? We both know it’s a fruit. I rest my case. Besides, I think we both need a break.” Light chimed in. In reality he’s the one that really needed a break. Lately, he’d been studying constantly for the entrance exam of a collage he was going to dread entering. But ‘anything for you, Dad.’ Right? 

“Uhg, okay, but can we go to the store too? I’ve been craving potato chips.” Sayu  
_________________________________________

“The mobile customer you are trying to reach...” Light cut off the automated message by talking to Sayu, who was walking next to him. 

“That’s unusual for Dad.”

“Hmm? What’s wrong, can’t get ahold of him?” She asked.

“Yeah, it’s weird, he usually has his phone on.” He commented, “He might be in a meeting right now.” 

As Sayu and Light walked into the building they heard a woman pleading with the receptionist, “Please. I need to speak directly with someone from the special investigation Task Force. It’s urgent.”

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but I can’t help you.” The receptionist looked like one of those people totally done with life and the ‘I don’t get paid enough for this.’ look on his face.

“As I’ve told you already, there is no one at Task Force Headquarters right now.” He continued.

“Cant you contact them somehow?” The lady begged. “I have information relating to the Kira investigation.”

Sayu and Light looked at each other with the same look on their faces. A mixture of shock and surprise, with a pinch of ‘what the fuck?’.

“Look, I’ll call headquarters one more time for you. One moment.” The receptionist grumbled, picking up the phone.

Light stepped forward with Sayu at his side. “Hi, we’re Detective Soichiro Yagami’s kids, Light and Sayu. We brought our father a change of clothes but it doesn’t look like he’s in. Can we leave them here?”

The second receptionist looked up at him and smiled, “Sure. Hey, I haven’t seen you in a while, Light.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Uh...” Light stuttered, gaining a giggle from Sayu. 

“What? You don’t remember? You helped solve the insurance fraud murder investigation sometime last year.” He informed, “But, hey, no one remembers a receptionist, do they?”

Light cringed. “Oh, I’m sorry. I’m terrible with faces.” He apologized. “I just need to sign my name on this form, right?”

“So, Light, does this mean you’re gonna be helping us with the Kira investigation too?” The receptionist asked.

“Oh, uh, I don’t know...” He answered sheepishly. 

“Light, don’t be so hard in yourself!” Sayu nudged him in the arm, “Maybe you’ll find Kira be for L does,” Sayu definitely emphasized the ‘L’ for very different reasons than the receptionist thought.

The lady looked up after hearing that. 

“As I thought, there’s no one at Headquarters. You’re gonna have to trust me on this, ma’am.” The receptionist stressed. “I’ll be sure to give them your message as soon as I see them, I promise.” 

She leaned forward on the desk and demanded, “That’s not good enough. I have to tell them in person.”

“‘Scuse me.” Sayu interrupted, “Our father is actually in charge of the Kira investigation. If you like, I could pass your message on to him?” 

“Yeah, actually,” Light continued the conversation, they both had found interest in the person next to them. “His cellphone’s off at the moment, but I should be able to contact him soon.”

“Uh, Light, it’s probably better if you don’t discuss this with...”

“I dunno, mister. I feel like I can trust her. You can see it in her eyes.” Sayu said, fondly smiling at the lady. “She’s a wise and careful person. You must want to tell them in person because there must have been a leak of some kind, that’s the only reason those FBI agents could have died, right?”

For being his own sister, Light constantly underestimated Sayus skills. 

Sayu then proceeded to lead the both of them out while talking. “I’m pretty sure our father will call us back when he checks his messages, don’t worry, you can talk to him when he does.” 

“You sure that’s alright?” She asked.

“Oh, yeah.” Light answered, “You understand why I can’t just give you our father’s cellphone number, but you’re totally fine using my phone to talk to him.”

“Thank you, so much!” The lady bowed.

Ryuk flew up behind them, chuckling, “What’s going on again? I was pestering those birds over there.” 

Sayu coughed, a signal for Ryuk to, in her words, ‘shut the fuck up’. “I’ve gotta say, you must be pretty brave to be getting involved in the Kira case like this.” She wanted to start a conversation.

The woman sighed, “Not really.”

“So,” Light wanted to bring up the interesting woman’s thoughts on the case, “according to you, is Kira is some...” He caught himself when he realized something, “Uhm, we’ve been talking, and I just realized we don’t know each others names.”

Sayu cut in, “Oh, yeah! My name’s Sayu Yagami, Sayu’s written with the character’s for ‘makeup’ and ‘abundant’. Cute, right? And my brothers name is Light Yagami, spelt like ‘moon’. And our last name uses ‘night’ and ‘god’. Kinda weird, huh?” 

Light glared at her for using their real names. If this woman is any smart she’ll use an alias. 

“My name’s Shoko Maki. It’s written with the characters for ‘shining.’ ‘ko’ as in ‘child’ and ‘ki’ as in ‘tree.’” She answered. 

“Ms. Maki, right?” Light questioned.

Ryuk wheezed behind them. 

“Ms. Maki,” He continued. “I’ve been thinking about Kira’s powers. And I believe they enable them to somehow control their victims before they die.”

‘Shoko’ looked ecstatic, “So do I! It’s odd that you say that because that’s exactly what I’ve been thinking.”

Light hit the bulls eye with that question. Just a few more to lead to her hypothesis.

“Kira’s able to control their actions before they kill them. But there’s more to it.” Jack pot. “If my analysis so far is correct, Kira can kill in a number of ways, not just with a heart attack.” 

Light and Sayu already knew this information, but hearing come from someone else who’s never seen the notebook was astonishing. Just who is this woman? 

“I don’t think anyone else knows this yet. But if the police are willing to consider it, I bet it would help them catch Kira.” She looked down on the pavement they were walking on. 

“You know, that possibility never even crossed my mind.” Light lied for their convenience.

Sayu went along with the clueless act. “So, what you’re saying is, any time Kira wants one of their murders to go undetected, they wouldn’t use a heart attack?”

“Right.” She confirmed. “I’m almost positive someone I know may have met Kira.”

“Met Kira?” Light gaped. “If someone came in saying they’d met Kira, the police would be a little more than skeptical, to say the least.” 

“I know.” Shoko sighed. “That’s whay I need to explain in person to someone from the Task Force headquarters. Otherwise, I’m afraid they’d just write me off.”

‘I think they’d do that either way with the old Tasks Force, but with only five remaining members, I think they’ll take whatever they can get.’ Light thought.

“Wouldn’t it be better if your friend spoke to them instead?” Sayu asked.

‘God, Sayu, obviously there’s a reason they’re not here right now.’

“He probably would, but he’s no longer alive. He was one of the twelve FBI agents who came to Japan to investigate Kira.”

Sayu looked at her in shock and profusely apologized, shaking her hands.

‘An FBI agent who met Kira... Could it be?’

“You see, he was also my fiancé.” As she said that, Sayu looked even more sorry. The cruel reality of a world with Kira. “While he was working he got caught up in a bus-jacking and I have reason to believe he met Kira on that bus.” 

‘Raye Penber!’

Sayu and Light stopped in their tracks. 

Shoko looked back, “What’s wrong?”

Sayu stammered, “N-Nothing. I’m so sorry to hear that he passed away.” They started up again. “So, what makes you think he met Kira on that bus?”

“Because eight days after that bust was hijacked... he died, along with the other FBI investigators.” She paused, “The same man had attempted to rob a bank two days before he hijacked that bus. And he dies in an accident? Just like that? I mean, really, what are the odd’s?” She lets out a hollow chuckle, full of emptiness. 

“I’ve come to believe that Kira set up that bus-jacking. It was planned to bring them into contact with my fiancé, in order to obtain information regarding the identities of the other FBI agents, so they could get rid of them all.” She sighed, “Anyway, what stands out to me is that the hijacker died in an accident. In other words, it suggests that heart attacks aren’t the only at Kira can kill people.” She stopped at the light.

“Okay, so the bus-jacket didn’t die of a heart attack. And based on that, you’re saying Kira has other ways of killing people?” Light asked. 

“Shut up, Light!” Sayu whisper-yelled at her brother, “No need to quiz her,” she dropped into an actual whisper, “we already know this, there’s no point.” 

“It’s fine.” She interrupted, “Yes.”

“I think that’s a leap of faith I’m willing to put my trust in!” Sayu tried to lift the mood.

“There’s no other way of looking at it. If Kira was controlling the hijacker, chances are they killed him too. My fiancé told me one thing. That he’d been put in a situation where he had to show his FBI ID to people. The operation was undertaken secretly without the NPA’s knowledge. He wasn’t allowed to show his ID. I think, one of the people who saw his ID that day was responsible for the deaths of all of the agents.” Shoko explained.

‘Unbelievable. I’d suspected that that girl had something so do with it, but to think that she’s Kira? I don’t even remember what she looks like, besides that she looked about my age with brown hair.’ Light thought.

Light didn’t usually use his gut to make decisions, but this was one of them. He needed ‘Shoko Maki’ on a team, with him and Sayu, in order to catch Kira. He couldn’t have her go to the Task Force, she was too smart and they didn’t have enough information. He had a whole shinigami, with the tool used to kill hundreds of thousands of people, with all the rules. They could do it. They had to. But they can’t share the existence of the notebook to too many people. That’s how information leaks and superiority complexes happen. The real question is, how he can get Shoko to trust him enough to help him and not the Task Force? 

“I understand! You’re the only one who knows any of this. And you want nothing more than to avenge your fiancé by bringing Kira to justice, right?” Sayu asked rhetorically, “Then, please join us!”

_________________________________________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is this considered a cliffhanger? Was the last chapter a cliffhanger too? Anyways, say hello to V!!! They’re one of my two OC’s entering this story, I hope you enjoy their presence! 
> 
> I’ve been think about pronouns recently and I always found it kinda rude that they gave Kira masculine pronouns instead of gender neutral ones... I now know that it’s kinda hard to use “they, their, there” and “they’re” so much. I’d already done something like that in a short story for school, but that was only two people... 
> 
> Update on character sheets: IVE FINISHED THE SHINIGAMI!!! I have a full body thingy of it but I have no idea how to add it to the chapter or whatever... I’ve got stuff like fav food, positive and negative traits, name (and what inspired it) for both characters! I’m currently working on a portrait of our Kira! (I don’t exactly have a portrait or character sheet of V but imma work in it) I’m trying to incorporate the death note manga style because I absolutely adore it! 
> 
> Not that’s enough rambling... I seriously hope you enjoyed this chapter! And, as always, Kudos, comments, and feedback are life! :)


	6. Gifts To Be Given

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo! I’ve decided to try to post once a week (around the weekend, not like I wasn’t doing that already). The thing is, I have a whole bunch of motivation to write but I’ve developed a tic syndrome (tics like Tourette’s, not the bug) and it’s slowly getting a little worse and draining energy I would usually have (example: I planned on posting this chapter last night, but I fell asleep). But the keyword is ‘try’ so if I don’t update regularly I apologize <3

‘Shoko’ stood in shock for a moment. The request still loading in her brain. Please, join us! Us what? How could they possibly think it’s a better idea to work with a couple of teenage siblings than the god damn Task Force? They definitely knew something she didn’t. 

“E-Excuse me?” She stuttered, “Join you? Why would I join you instead of the Task Force? What do you have that they don’t? You’re obviously hiding something.” 

Sayu looked up with the aftershock of what she just said plastered on her face. She quickly tried to explain her reasoning while Light looked at her as if she’d gone crazy. 

“WellitallstartedliketenyearsagoandwesortagotaholdoftheworstmurderweaponofalltimewhichjustsohappenstobethesamemurderweaponKirapickedupsobasicallywealsoknowalloftherulesthatcomewithitbutwealsocantshowittoanyoneorelsewe’llriskmakinganktherKira.” Sayu slushed all of the words out of her mouth at once. 

“Uh... come again?” Shoko stepped back a bit. 

“Oh, uh, sorry. I panicked.” Sayu looked up at Light, “We have to explain.” She returned her gaze back to Shoko, “All we need is your consent to walk to our house with us, to get something, and then we can go wherever you want to explain everything. No tricks. No nothing. Promise.”  
_________________________________________  
•Teito Hotel•

“I apologize for questioning all of you like that, but I’m afraid I had no other choice. I’ve determined that Kira is not among us.”

The five detectives sighed in relief as L sat back down like a frog. 

“Ryuzaki, how can you be certain that we’re all innocent?” Soichiro asked. 

“Well,” L stirred the tea V had just poured for him, “to be honest, from the beginning, V and I set a number a of traps that would reveal if any of you were Kira. But after speaking with you one on one, I don’t feel the need.”

At that moment Ls phone rang. “Excuse me.” L reached into his pocket, “Understood.” 

He held it up as if he were touching something disgusting, with two fingers gripping the sides. 

“I’m just about finished here anyway. You’ve got the key, so let yourself in.”

Beep.

“Watari is on his way.”  
_________________________________________  
In that moment Light wanted nothing more than to slap Sayu upside the head and just go home. But there was no going back now.

‘Shoko’ considered the deal for a moment. 

“You promise you’ll explain everything? Nothing left out. Absolutely nothing. And I get to decide whether I want to leave any moment, anywhere.” 

Sayu cut the goofy grin and looked at her dead serious. 

“I promise.”  
_________________________________________

“Gentlemen, it’s an honor to meet all of you.” 

A man, maybe sixty to seventy years old, stood before the Task Force, taking off his hat and bowing slightly. 

“This person is Watari?” Aizawa whispered. 

“Hm. What about your usual outfit?” Matsuda asked. 

V jogged into the room and gave Watari a side hug. “Mm nice tux you got there, Watari, but you should mix it up once in a while.” Which confused the Task Force, since they were talking in English, again, but Watari just smiled and continued. 

“If I dressed like that, I’d be announcing to the world that I am Watari. That’s all it takes to give away the location of our headquarters, Ryuzaki, and V.” 

“O-Oh,” Matsuda realized, “I see.” 

“Ordinarily, I would never show my face to any of you. The fact that I’m here is proof that you’ve won Ryuzaki’s trust.”

Matsuda rubbed the back of his head, “Now that you mention it, I do feel honored. Heh heh...”

V looked at Watari, “Oh! Do you have the stuff from the thing Ryuzaki told me I couldn’t go to?”

“Ah, yes, I’ve brought those items you requested.” Watari pulled out a metal case from the bag he was holding. 

“Could you please pass them out to everyone?” L asked.

“Why is it that I couldn’t go instead of Watari? I’m just as capable.” V poked at Ls shoulder.

“You’re too young for this one, just take a look.”

Watari opened the case to reveal five police badges. “Gentlemen, these are your new police IDs.”

“But what for?”  
_________________________________________

“Fine. So, you just need to get something? What would that be?” Shoko agreed. 

“U-Uh... A book. Yeah, we need a book.” Sayu stuttered out, “Now, where would you like to meet after we get it? We’re gonna need complete privacy.” Cause I don’t want people looking at us while you’re screaming, she thought. It sounded even worse in her head. 

“Uhgg” Light sighed and started rubbing his temples “Sayu, you make no sense whatsoever. We’re gonna die. You’re gonna get us killed. I swear.”

“I’m under no obligation to make sense to you, thank you very much.” Sayu regained her natural goofy grin with that. “Alright, are you ready to go, Ms. Maki?”  
_________________________________________

The Task Force looked at the IDs they were just handed, “Our names and ranks are false.” Soichiro noted.

“Why’d you give us fake IDs?” Matsuda asked.

“As you know, Kira requires a name and a face to kill.” L slurped the tea V just sweetened, “We will confront them with that premise in mind.”

“Ya know, Matsui, for a detective, you don’t seem to notice the obvious, do you?” V pointed out, bringing in cookies. 

“Yes, but if all people, the police shouldn’t use fake IDs.” Ukita stated.

“Enough.” Soichiro demanded, “What choice do we really have, given the capabilities of our enemy? As long as you’re working on this case, I think we’re going to need all the protection one can get. It’s would be foolish not to use them.”

The detectives agreed, “Yeah. You’ve got a point.”

“Remember, any time you’re in a situation where you have to give out your name to a stranger, make sure to use the name from your fake ID. Understood?” L wanted to make things as clear as possible. Nothing like the FBI agent incident would ever happen again. 

“Right.”

“And be careful not to take them out while in the presence of other police officers. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you. That could cause problems for us.” He hoped they knew.

“I understand.” Aizawa nodded.

“Very well, then.” Watari placed the case he was holding on the table by the window, only to show your generic everyday belt. “I’d like to request that you wear these at all times.”

“Uh, belts?” Matsuda looked confused. 

V spoke up to explain. “Each one has a transmitter button in the buckle. It’ll allow us to monitor your whereabouts. When you press the buckle button twice like this...” They picked up and pressed a belts button and Wataris phone rang. “Wataris cellphone will ring, showing us your name. One of us will call you back immediately, but on your phone you won’t see the number show up. Cool, huh?”

Watari picked it up from there. 

“In the morning, all of you will go to the police station as usual. Then, later on in the day, we’ll use this method to confirm the name of Ryuzaki’s hotel and room number. Please use this for emergencies as well.” He passed out a belt to each detective. 

“No way!” Matsuda yelled as he put on his personal belt. “This is totally cool. I feel like some kind of secret agent going after Kira!” 

“Quiet, Matsuda!” The Chief demanded, “This is not the time to be fooling around. Knock it off!”

“Yes, sir.” He softly sighed.  
_________________________________________

“Y-Yes, I believe I’m ready...” I can’t believe I’m doing this. I can’t believe I’m doing this. I can’t believe I’m doing this. The moment something gets weird I’m leaving. 

“Alright! Just follow us this way and then we-“ White started to cloud Sayus vision and she felt a wet touch on her nose. “Dammit, it’s snowing. We’d better hurry up if we don’t want to be freezing.”

Light looked up. “Uhg... yeah you’re right. We gotta go... And grab and umbrella.”  
_________________________________________

•The Yagami Household•

The trio stood outside the house entrance. “Ms. Maki, if our mother asks you who you are, say you’re a friend from cram school, okay?”

She nodded in agreement as Sayu opened the door. “We’re home!” She said, loud enough for someone in the house to hear, and spun around. “Okay,” she whispered, “me and Light are gonna run upstairs to get the book. Just stay here, Ms.”

They both kicked off their shoes and bolted up the stairs. 

“Hello kids- oh! Hello there, Ms. May I ask who you are?” Sachiko walked over to greet her children but ended up seeing ‘Shoko Maki’ standing there.

“Hello, Ma’am.” She bowed. “I’m Shoko Maki, a friend of Lights from cram school. He just went up to get a book I needed.”

“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Maki. Light should be down in a moment. Please, make yourself at home!” Sachiko had the loving warmth of a mother and the smell of peppermint and homemade cookies. 

Light and Sayu came running down the stairs, a leather bag around Sayus shoulder. “I don’t think that’ll be necessary, mom. But do you think you could grab us a couple umbrellas? We’d like to walk her home.” Light smiled. 

“Oh, of course, sweetheart.”  
_________________________________________

As soon as they got out of the house Light started talking again, “So, where would you like to go? Preferably, we would go someplace with little to no people. For your sake, really... Wait. I just realized how creepy that sounded. I’m so sorry.” He squeaked. 

“Uhm...” ‘Shoko’ thought, “We can go to my apartment. The walls are thin enough so people can hear yelling and screaming but not a normal conversation.”

Sayu looked at Light. “That works for me, how ‘bout you?”

“Ditto.”

It was probably only a few minutes after they started walking again when ‘Shoko’ spoke up. 

“So, how about I know a little bit about you guys before I do this scary ass thing involving the worlds worst serial killer?”

Light and Sayu looked shocked, like they’d forgotten something, and started to find the right words. 

“Well, I’m a third year in high school, and Sayu’s a first year.” Light said.

“Anything that compels me to trust you?”

“Well, Lights the number one student in Japan. No joke. Plus he’s already solved a few other cases. I’ve got nothin’ though. I’m just his sister.” Sayu proudly displayed her brother. 

Shoko looked at him for confirmation. When he nodded slowly she hunched her shoulders slightly. 

“Wow... I wasn’t expecting that. Don’t get me wrong, I knew you were smart, but this is just crazy. I mea- Oh. We’re here.” 

The three walked into the building and took the elevator to Shoko’s apartment. 

“Take a seat.” She requested. And they did. “So, what’s with a book?”

Sayu lifted the book out of her bag and teared the corner off of a random page and held it out. “Well, it’ll take a bit to explain, but to help you believe everything, touch this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again, and thank you for reading this chapter! 
> 
> I do believe it’s time for a Ryuk/Naomi introduction! I honestly can’t wait for that; I hope you’re all as excited as I am to read as I am to write :)
> 
> I’ve also realized that, subconsciously, I made V talk a lot I I do... lol
> 
> I also hope you enjoy how Sayu took the lead in this chapter! I didn’t really know how to write her character because she was only in a few minutes of the anime and a few pages of the manga, so she’s basically an oc that was inspired by her og design and her few minutes of screen time. I’ve always enjoyed the concept of her character in the og script! “Little sister unknowingly admires serial killer brother” 
> 
> Id also like to properly thank you all for 100+ kudos and 1000+ hits! I’m so grateful <3  
> I hope you all have a wonderful day! If you haven’t yet today; go drink some water! Have a snack while you’re at it <3


	7. Apples Of Eden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryuk and ‘Shoko Maki’ meet. The Book is explained. What the fuck is up with Lights head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Another chapter has arrived! I hope you enjoy :)

“You want me to touch this piece of paper, and it’ll help explain?” Shokos day was getting weirder and weirder. “Actually, you know what? Fine.” She reached out and touched the paper with her pointer finger. 

“Now, can you please tell m- Oh my fucking God. What is that!?”

She was starting at a large monster with sickly gray skin, yellow teeth that looked sharp enough to bite her hand off, and empty red eyes.

“Hey, don’t you think that’s kinda rude to say to someone you just met?” The monster standing behind the kids asked. 

Light looked at it and shrugged, “Honestly, that’s a valid reaction. Don’t you remember when we first met?” 

“Oh. Yeah.”

“Is it okay to make fun of it like that?” Shoko had gotten out of her seat and hurried behind her chair, semi-shielding herself.

“It’s okay to make fun of him, cause he’s an asshole.” Light laughed.

Shoko raised her voice. “Can someone tell me what the fuck that is and why I’m seeing it.”

Light looked like he was about to explain when the monster cut in. “I’m Ryuk. A Shinigami.”

“No. No way. Shinigami aren’t real. I’m just going crazy.” She started to slowly slide down the chair onto the floor, hugging her knees.

“Shoko, I know this is a lot, but try to calm down for me?” Sayus voice was soothing. 

“I’ll try... just... keep explaining everything. I’ll be fine. Talk.” She whispered.

Sayu looked at Light, who was sitting uncomfortably in his seat. “Do you wanna start? I think you know this story the best.”

“Uhm, yeah.”

Light began to explain his story from the beginning. How he first found the Death Note falling out of the sky, how he met Ryuk, and the bus incident. He also read each rule from the notebook. The one they called the ‘Death Note’.

Shoko had eventually come to her senses. She used to be an FBI agent for gods sake. She couldn’t keep quivering on the floor like a child. She might not have been trained for this but she knew how to adapt and overcome. 

“I- I think I get it.” Shoko had come to sit on the chair again. “I’ve got no other reason than to trust you... so I think I should clear something up.” She sighed, gathering her courage and thoughts. “You mentioned the ‘Shinigami eyes’ once and how they could see a name and lifespan above a persons head... Well, since your Shinigami has seen me, he probably already knows this, but, my real name isn’t ‘Shoko Maki’. My real name is ‘Naomi Misora’ soon to be ‘Naomi Penber’.”

She lied.

Why was the voice in Lights head so focused on lies... Or rather, exposure of the truth.

Nevermind, Light thought. I need to focus. We’ve gained Naomis trust, but we could loose it any moment. One wrong move. One wrong word, and she could end us. She already knows our names, faces, and who our father is. I don’t need any more distractions.

But the lies. The voice was sounding more and more like Light himself. I could fix the lies. Stop them, even. Everything would be like you wanted. Or, if you wanted, the truth. The voice continued. Did you know that the stopping of lies and the exposure of truth are very different? One stops people from talking, and everyone’s happy. No one would have to deal with things they don’t want to hear; the bitter truth. Or, endless truth. Everyone knows everything. Nothing is hidden. More information. Society moves forward. A new world. Isn’t that what you wanted? What you dreamed of? It doesn’t have to be just a simple dream. That dream could be a reality. If only-

Shut up. Shut up shut up. Shut. Up. Light needed to get his thoughts under control. Were they his? 

He sighed. “Your name is Naomi? Okay. Good. Use your alias when you need to give out your name to someone you don’t know. Especially girls around my age with brown hair. Like... Sayu, if she was older, with gray eyes and a freckle under... ugh which eye?” He looked at Sayu and she shrugged.

“I dunno... I was pretty scared in the moment. I was paying more attention to Raye than the girl, I’m surprised that you remember her.”

“I’ve got a decent memory with smaller details. The bigger picture on the other hand? Nada. I could have sworn that I’d seen her somewhere...”

Ryuk chuckled a bit. “Hyuk. I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about, but you guys didn’t get the apples you owed me.”

“Yeah, yeah, sorry about that.” Sayu said mockingly. “Back to you, Ms. Misora. If you’re okay with it, it’s getting kind of late... do you think we could exchange numbers and get in contact another time? Like tomorrow, after school?”

Naomi looked tired. “Yes, that would be fine. More than fine, really. It is pretty late, but the snow shouldn’t be much of a problem. Would you like for me to walk home with you guys?”

Despite Sayu being the ‘responsible sibling’ in this situation, so far, she waved her hands frantically and slightly chuckled. “No, nonononono. I think we’ll be fine. Thank you for the offer though. I appreciate the hospitality after what we just put you through.” She stood up and bowed slightly, grabbing her coat, Light did the same. “If you ever need something, call us.”

After exchanging numbers, Light and Sayu left the apartment. Light let out a long, loud, sigh of relief and resisted the urge to strange his sister. “I can’t believe you did that! I swear I’m gonna kill you one day.”

“Ah, ah, ahh!” Sayu playfully waved her finger at Light. “That’s not gonna make you any less suspicious in the eyes of your mystery-man! Person? I guess we don’t know yet. Is that bet still on?”

Light made a struggling noise that could be read as either frustration or embarrassment, I’ll let you choose. 

The snow that had stopped about ten minutes prior to leaving the apartment left a chilly wind in the air that left the Yagamis faces with a light pink blush. Lights tennis shoes were now sopping wet while Sayu, who wore her boots out, was completely fine and dandy. 

Light felt like he needed to talk to someone about that voice in his head... At first he thought it was what people call ‘intrusive thinking’ but now he wasn’t so sure... Coming up at moments and noticing things he wouldn’t have noticed before...

He needed help. 

He needed it fast.

But who?

It knows everything.  
_________________________________________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! 
> 
> Is this short? I feel like it’s short...
> 
> (I hope y’all get the chapter name’s reference... short-ish explication: (this includes Christian themes so if you’ve got religious trauma in that area, I’d advise you skip this part!) in the Christian bible, Christians adopted the apple as the forbidden fruit, and the garden Adam and Eve were in was called the Garden of Eden. After that and everything, apples became a symbol for knowledge, immortality, temptation, the fall of man, and sin. Death Note also has a lot of religious references that I could share, if you’re interested! (All the more reason the make it gay!) I hope you understand how much temptation is in this chapter and ones to come.)
> 
> As always, comments and feedback are life! I check my notifs multiple times per day... due to something funky in my brain :) 
> 
> If I’ve spelled anything wrong or you just wanna send some snazzy emojis it would still make my heart explode... probably... not enough to stop me from uploading <3


	8. Less Hiding, More Seeking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> L had the guts to tell Kira to kill him on national television so why wouldn’t he have the guts to put cameras in some civilians houses?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry, this chapter is sooooo long. SERIOUSLY. It’s the length of all the previous chapters combined. So, PLEASE, if it’s late for you, this chapter will still be here in the morning. Go get some sleep :)

_________________________________________  
L stared as the screens finally flickered black and white static. 

“That was footage from the surveillance cameras at the station.” Aizawa spoke tiredly from the couch behind stacks of VHS recordings. “The death of one of the FBI agents is captured on here.” He groaned while rubbing his temple. 

“Let’s see the following scenes again.” L requested.

This had become a pattern for days. Watching each recording multiple times until every detail was noted.

“Raye Penber passing the ticket gate on his way in, then him boarding the train. And finally, the part where he dies on the platform.”

The Task Force had speculated that L would be a bit odd... but he was the type of person to bite his ice cream. That was monster behavior. 

“Okay.” Aizawa sighed. “Let’s see.” He crouched down to find the next tape.

“I think it’s next to that.” Matsuda pointed. 

“Oh, here it is.”

“Uhm, so based on the records I have here, Raye Penber comes through the west entrance of Shinjuku Station at 3:11 p.m. Then at 3:14 he boards a train on the Yamanote Line. But even if he was following someone at that time, I think it’s very difficult for us to draw any real conclusions from this blurry video. And then at exactly 4:42 p.m.-” 

V tapped him on the shoulder to provide some macha ice cream. “Here you go.” And went to hand some to the Chief and Aizawa.

“Oh, thank you very much, V.” He looked back at the paper he was holding. “Uhm, and at 4:42 p.m. he exits the train at Tokyo station and dies on the platform.”

“It’s quite strange, don’t you think?” L mumbled. 

“I’m sorry, what do you find strange?” Soichiro asked. 

“Yeah, what is it? Did you notice something?”

L took a bite out of his ice cream. “Mmm... We all know that Raye Penber got on the train and then an hour and a half later he got off and died on the platform. But the Yamanote Line only takes an hour to complete its circuit. And more importantly, there’s the envelope.”

“What do you mean?” Aizawa didn’t have to wait long until L pressed a button on the remote. “He’s holding what looks like an envelope when he passes through the ticket gate.”

Aizawa gasped. “You’re right. It’s right there, under his arm. But in the footage right before his death it’s gone! I can’t believe you actually caught that.”

Soichiro picked up a paper containing details of Raye Penber death and surroundings. “Well, I don’t see an envelope on this list of his personal effects.”

“Which means it was left on the train.” L concluded. “And if you watch closely at the very end here... it seems like he’s straining to look inside the train before the doors close. You can see right here.”

“If that’s the case, do you think it could mean something?” Soichiro asked.

L looked back at him for the first time. “Wouldn’t it be interesting if Kira was on that train?” 

“That’s impossible!” Soichiro protested.

“I admit I find it hard to believe as well. There’s no reason for Kira to come to the scene of their own crime when they can kill from a distance. Well... maybe they were counting on us to make that assumption, and figured they could get away with such a bold move.”

He continued to nibble at his ice cream for a bit, as well as V, getting themself a scoop.  
_________________________________________  
•Later•

“Everyone, from this point, I’d like to focus our investigation on only those people whom Raye Penber was tailing. In particular, he was assigned to two police officers and those closest to them.”

“Very well,” The Chief agreed. “who are these two individuals he was investigating?” 

“Deputy Director General Kitamura, along with... Detective Superintendent Yagami, and their families. At this stage, I’d like to place wiretaps and surveillance cameras in both households.”  
_________________________________________  
•The Yagami Household•

It had been a few days after they first exposed themselves to Naomi Misora. She’d been getting used to Ryuk well so far, though he got on her nerves a bit. The Yagamis would visit her apartment almost everyday after school for about an hour and a half. They went to discuss discoveries and hypothesis but to no avail they would just sit around waiting. 

Ever since their father had left for work and hadn’t been back police information has hard to come by. The main theory in the group was that he, and other detectives, were meeting with L. Discussions in person and on paper where the information would never leave. 

Light and Sayu had just finished searching for new info but found nothing. 

“We have to make sure there’s no evidence left in the computer. Just in case someone goes through it.”

“We have this conversation everyday, Light.” Sayu groaned. “Can you at least find a new way to phrase it? I thought you were a literary genius. Or just a genius in general.”  
____________________________________  
•Task Force ‘Headquarters’ AKA: A Random Hotel•

“Surveillance cameras? Ryuzaki!” Matsuda shouted. 

“I don’t see how you could even consider this! If this got out, we’d have a civil rights scandal on our hands. We’d all lose our jobs.” Aizawa stressed.

“You told me you’d be willing to risk your lives for this investigation. But you wouldn’t risk your jobs?” Ls voice was sterner than normal. V slid back into their chair and pretended to work. By that, the Task Force knew that L wasn’t messing around 

“R-Ryuzaki, what are the odds that Kira is in one of those house holds?” Soichiro asked.

“Maybe ten percent. No, its closer to five percent.”

“Seriously? I’m sorry, but it’s not worth the risk.” Matsuda stated.

“No.” The Chief was no longer calm with his words. “Of all the people we’ve investigated so far, not one of them seem even the least bit suspicious. Even if there’s only a one percent chance, we simply can’t afford to ignore it.”

“Chief...”

“I dont have to tell you how offended I am to learn my family is under suspicion. Having said that, just go ahead with it.”

Matsuda and Aizawa gasped.

“And make sure you install them everywhere...” He continued. “I don’t want any blind spots in the house, and that includes that bathroom.”

“Thank you very much. That was my intention.”

“‘Cmon, Chief.” Aizawa protested. “You don’t have to agree to this.”

“Yes, he’s right.” Matsuda continued. “Think about your family. You have a wife and daughter at home, don’t you?”

“Yes, I’m well aware of that fact. But there is no point in doing any of this if we can’t be thorough! Now I suggest you keep quiet.” The Chiefs voice boomed louder than before.

Matsuda and Aizawa gaped at him and V flinched backwards looking defensive. 

“I’m sorry.” Matsuda whispered.

“No, it’s okay. Excuse me.” The Chief walked out of the room.

L walked over to V and exchanged a wordless conversation. L sighed and sat down on the couch. 

“As a courtesy to the Chief and his family, only he and I will conduct surveillance of their home. V, how long will it take to prepare the wiretaps and cameras we need?” 

“Well,” they hesitated, “starting tomorrow, me and Watari can set them up any time when we know both houses are empty and stay empty.”  
_________________________________________  
•The Yagami Household•

Light and Sayu were walking home from school with Ryuk drifting mindlessly behind them having a normal conversation. Light reached for the handle and noticed something odd. 

“Hm?” Sayu nudged when she noticed he stopped. “What’s up?”

“No ones home yet.” He said in a normal voice and then dropped to a whisper and hid his mouth while getting his keys. “Don’t say anything suspicious when we get inside. Follow my lead.”

They both walked in and took of their shoes at the entry. “We’re home.” Light called just loud enough incase someone really was home, and started walking upstairs. 

Sayu was good at following Lights lead in situations like this. She followed him up and started a simple conversation. 

“How much homework did you get, Light? I got wayyy too much for any sane person.” 

“You’re always complaining about that. He turned around to face her and teased her with finger quotes. “‘At least find a new way to phrase it.’”

He turned to open his door when he realized that somebody had triggered his trap. 

Not only was the handle back to normal, the pencil lead was snapped on the floor. What was weird was that the paper in between the door and the frame was back in place.

The kids took off their back backs and plopped on Lights bed for a moment. In synchrony they sat back up and,

“Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!” 

Ryuk chuckled. “Hyuk hyuk, Sayu remains victorious!”

“I win!” She squealed. “How many times is that? A weeks worth?”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. You win. Where’re we going this time?”

It was more or less a tradition at this point to play Rock Paper Scissors when there was a mutual sense of boredom or the need to get out of somewhere. The victor gets to chose where they escape to.

“Let’s go to Shokos!” 

“Alright, that’s fine with me. Get your jacket though. It’s a bit of a walk.”

“I knowww.”

They both walked out. Sayu, to the right to grab her jacket, and Light, down, to re-do the paper slip in the doorway. And just like that they were out of the house. 

_________________________________________

Once they were outside they still had to act natural. Pretend to have a normal conversation while you’re really doing something most people would consider supernatural. 

“Okay, Ryuk, go back into the house and search for anything suspicious. I’ll get you an apple on the way to Naomis if you don’t touch anything or do anything to arouse suspicion.” Light directed. 

“You got it! Hyuk hyuk.” Ryuk laughed at his reward and flew away.

Sayu pulled out her phone. “I’ll text Naomi that we’re coming over.”

After a few minutes of walking, Ryuk came back. 

“Good news, you owe me an apple, Light. Bad news, there’s cameras all over the place. Bedrooms, kitchen, even the bathrooms!”

“L.” They cursed under their breaths.  
_________________________________________  
•Naomi Misoras Apartment•

“So there are hidden cameras and wiretaps all throughout your house?” Naomi looked shocked. “I- Well, I don’t know L, at all, but we did work together. This sounds like something he would do.”

“Wow, Light. That Mystery Man of yours is a real charmer.” Sayu nudged her brother with her elbow. 

“Mystery Man? Whos Mystery Man?”  
Naomi sounded confused.

Sayu looked at Light for the okay. He gave her a little nod in acknowledgment.

“Light here’s got a crush on the worlds greatest detective! The guy who’s got trauma due to, and swore to never involve himself seriously with detective work, ended up falling for the biggest one!” She laughed.

Shoko let out a giggle. Over the few days she’d learned that Sayu helps Light and Light helps Sayu cope with humor. Neither of them really knew how to deal with feelings. They laugh it off at first, but you’ll see that they actually take each other quite seriously. 

“So, Ryuk,” Light struggled not to laugh but wanted to chase the conversations topic. “What are you going to do about your apples?”

“Oh that’s right, surveillance cameras. Once the apple’s in my mouth, no one can see it. But while I’m holding it, it looks like it’s floating.”

“Yeah, that might be a problem. Luckily, we have an easy solution.” Light stated. “Ryuk, you stay at Naomis place for however long the cameras are there. You can come with us to school and hang out there, but once we’re done you can check the house for cameras and wiretaps. Plus, this could be a chance for you and Naomi to become a little closer.”

Naomi looked worried for a second. “Y-Yeah. That should be fine. But I’ll have you know that I am not paying for apples. You told me Shinigami can’t die, right? You can go a week without apples.”

Sayu giggled for a moment and said, “Oh, trust me, you do not wanna see that. He turns all pretzel-like and does handstands. Not pretty.”

“You don’t have to worry about that, Naomi.” Light reassured. “We can bring him apples every few days. I spent years telling mom that my favorite food was apples so she buys a bunch. She feels bad that I don’t ask for anything after getting a top grade or something along those lines.”

Sayu laughed in agreement and clapped her hands while standing up. “So everyone knows the game plan, right? Every few days we’ll come over here after we text you. L might have bugged our phones, so don’t say anything obvious.”

“Right.” Light stood up and started to slip his jacket on. “Ryuk, you stay here. We’ll bring you some apples tomorrow. Try not to bug Naomi too much.”

“No promises, Light-o.”

“Alright, see you later.”  
_________________________________________  
•The Yagami Household•

“Did you know that fish can cough?” Light didn’t look up from his biology textbook. Light had been sharing useless facts for an hour.

“Wow. Thank you of that oh-so-interesting fact.” Sayu struggled out while playing Mario Kart. Was she losing? Yes. Would she admit that? Never.

They had both gotten home from Naomis about an hour ago. Light went on to read a biology book that had been sitting on his shelf. He didn’t even look when he picked it out. He just needed something to occupy his thoughts after the mind-wrangling fact that he had cameras in his room watching every movement he makes.

Sayu went and turned on Lights Super Nintendo. In reality, Light never really played it. So Sayu considered it shared property.  
_________________________________________

“So this behavior is normal, correct?”

L and Soichiro were alone in the room looking at the monitors displaying Sayu and Light in his room.

“Yes, I believe so. Truthfully, I’m not home as much as I used to be after I got promoted. Although I can’t believe my children would be wasting their time by reading a middle school biology textbook and playing video games instead of doing something important like studying.” 

“It’s normal for teenagers. Although I do admit that it’s odd that Light is reading a middle school worthy book, considering the fact that he’s one of the top students in Japan...”

Maybe he just needed a break? L thought. No, that can’t be right. He just got home from a friends house. He hadn’t done anything all day besides school. If he were trying to take a break he would just play with his sister and get the satisfaction of winning, since she seems to suck. What’s he trying to do here?

“It seems contrived. But I don’t know what to make of it. He shows no reason for not wanting anyone in his room, considering Sayu is with him currently. All he’s doing is reading a children’s book and sharing biology facts.”

Soichiro raised his voice. “Hey, that’s my son you’re talking about. Are you honestly suspecting him?”

“As I said before, I don’t know what to make of him yet. Although I do believe that Sayu is not apart of the picture. She seems too average. In fact, she’s average at everything. School, sports, she only seems to hang out with her brother, but she might be slightly below average in Mario Kart skills.”  
_________________________________________

Light flipped his page.

“‘Color blindness is mainly caused when one or more color cone cells are absent or not functioning and not able to detect different colors. These cones are the cells of the retina, which detect the color light.’” He quoted.

“Light, you do know that I used that exact textbook, like, three years ago, right?” Sayu said as she mashed more buttons.

“Uh huh. Just thought you should know since I doubt you actually payed attention in class three years ago.”

The race ended. ‘12th place’. Seems about right. 

“Uhg.” Sayu sighed. “I did so pay attention. It’s just that it’s been three years and I don’t remember everything anyone has ever said, unlike Mr. Know It All here.”

“On that thought: ‘To be defensive is to react with an overprotective mentality so a situation that perhaps doesn't warrant it. Defensiveness is an impulsive and reactive mode of responding to a situation or conversation. Rather than listening with an open heart, we respond with our metaphorical shields up and weapons drawn.’” Light teased.

Sayu plopped back down onto Light bed in defeat. “Are you quoting that from memory or is it in the book? ‘Cause that’s a biology book, not psychology.”

“Just something I remembered after feeling the need to see you writhing in the agony of your defeat.” Light chuckled in a mocking mischievous tone.

“Kids!” Sachiko called out from downstairs. “Dinner’s ready! Come down to eat after you wash your hands.”  
_________________________________________

“‘I love you. Always.’”

The man on the screen had still managed to look handsome after being soaked in rain. That’s movie magic for ya, Light thought. In reality I don’t think anyone could look that good after standing out in the rain.

“Hideki Ryuka. I swear he’s perfect. How come no one in my class is like that?” Sayu squealed infront of the TV. 

“Sayu, just eat your dinner.” Her mother called. 

“In a minute?”  
_________________________________________

“Hello, Mr. Aizawa? Are the Kitamuras watching television now?”

“Yes.” He answered from the other side of the line. “He’s not home, but the other four are watching while they eat dinner. It’s channel four.”

L closed his phone.

“V, please contact the broadcasters and tell them to play our message.”

“You got it.”  
____________________________________

“‘NKK NEWSFLASH’” blinked in small white print above the show Sayu was watching.

“Huh? What’s this?” Sayu complained as the words flashed on the screen. “The ICPO? They’re saying that... ‘In response to the Kira murders, Interpol has decided to dispatch a force of fifteen hundred investigators to Japan. The investigators were drawn from the law of enforcement agencies of its member nations.’ Fifteen hundred investigators? Woah!” She whispered the last part in awe. Sayu may be a good strategist but in the moment she’s still a fifteen year old girl.

“Don’t you think that was kind of a stupid move on the ICPO’s part?” Light started criticizing without thinking. Crap. I knew it was L, Light thought. It just had to be. So why did I say anything? It’s just that it was so obvious I had to say something. L is probably watching too. Maybe they’ll learn not to be so stupidly obvious next time that even someone who’s not Kira can figure it out. Well... maybe that’s why I’m under suspicion. God, I’m so stupid.

“Huh?” Sayu pried her gaze from the television and looked at her brother.

“Well... I mean, if you’re gonna send so many people to investigate, don’t you think you should keep it secret? Even the FBI victims were found out by Kira. The fact that there’re so many makes it more likely they’ll be found out. In all honesty I think they’re bluffing. L’s too smart to actually pull a stunt like this. They’re crazy, not stupid.”  
____________________________________

L let out a dry chuckle at Lights comment. 

“Your son is clever, isn’t he?”

“Uh, well, yes.”  
_________________________________________

“Thanks for dinner, Mom. It was great.”

“No problem, sweetheart. You’ve got to keep eating well to stay healthy.” Sachiko smiled while they picked up their dishes. 

“Hey, Light?” Sayu called.

“Hm? What’s up?”

“Do you wanna play Mario Kart later or do you need to study more?”

Light thought for a moment. Could Dad be watching too? In that case...

“Yeah we can play for a bit. I’ll study later. I’ve been ahead lately, so prepare to get beat. I saw you fail miserably earlier.”

Just to spite him.  
_________________________________________

“After dinner, your children just go back to hanging out in Lights room. With out turning on the news or his computer. They seem to be close.” L noted.

“Yes, I see them hang out quite a bit when I get the chance to go home for dinner. Although I will say I’m rather disappointed that Light isn’t studying. The entrance exam is only five days away.”

“Ryuzaki?” V called.

“What is it, V?”

“I just thought you should know that the killings have continued like normal. Although some of the victims are a bit different than usual.”

L looked back, slightly confused. “What do you mean by that?”

“Well, two that stand out are a bank clerk being questioned of suspicion of embezzlement, and a purse snatcher being held in a detention center. They were just broadcast on the news and they both just died of inexplicable heart attacks. What I think-“

V was cut off by Soichiro’s growling. “It’s Kira again!”

“Uh...” V stood annoyed for a moment. “As I was saying, what I think is odd about these killings is the circumstances. One was only under suspicion and the other was a very minor crime. Plus the person who committed it is already in punishment. Either Kira’s standards have dropped drastically, or something’s up. Maybe they’re in a mood.”

L thought for a moment and turned to Soichiro. “While all that was happening at your home, you’re son and daughter were playing video games, and that is still continuing. From just past seven thirty until now, eleven o’clock, your wife’s done nothing but do dishes with your son and tidy up the house before saying goodnight and going to sleep. Kira needs a name and a face. Without those, they cannot kill. So I suppose anyone who didn’t watch the news can’t be Kira, right?”

“You said it yourself,” Soichiro stood up in excitement. “that means my family has been cleared.”

“It doesn’t make sense though. As V said, why would Kira kill two petty criminals right after their identities were broadcast.”

Soichiro stepped back. Maybe he was appalled by what L was going to say. 

“I know it’s only the first day after the cameras were installed, but the Yagami Household seems almost too innocent to me.”  
_________________________________________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! 
> 
> I’m still getting used to ao3 and I just realized that the words I have italicized aren’t showing up here as italicized :’) for reference: I write everything in my notes app and copy and paste everything into ao3. Does that happen to everyone or am I just crazy? . . . Anyone know what to do? Please let me know <3 
> 
> Another thing: I PHYSICALLY COULD NOT WRITE LIGHTS PORNO SCENE. The second hand embarrassment would have killed me. Plus, he’s a child in that scene. I could not fathom the thought of him wanking his yanker to that :’| so now we have wholesome bickering and fun facts between siblings. 
> 
> I hope you guys noticed Lights comment on the rain scene when they were watching TV. I’m still coping from episode 25 :’p
> 
> As always, kudos and comments are LIFE and they motivate me so much <333


End file.
